Skip to main content

    AI by country · North America

    AI in Mexico: the rules, the readiness and where to start

    Last checked: 29 October 2026

    What should a company in Mexico know before starting with AI?

    Mexico has no general AI law as of 29 October 2026. The law that applies to most AI work is the new Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties, in force since 21 March 2025, which replaced the 2010 law and moved enforcement from the INAI to the Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat. A company should check its privacy notice, its consent for new uses of data, and how it handles objections to automated processing.

    At a glance

    Mexico at a glance

    Key facts about Mexico
    Data protection lawLey Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares, published 20 March 2025, in force since 21 March 2025
    RegulatorSecretaría Anticorrupción y Buen Gobierno (Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat), which took over from the INAI
    AI policyPlan Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (April 2026), a government plan. No general AI law as of 29 October 2026
    Time zoneMexico City UTC-6 all year (India is 11.5 hours ahead); Cancún UTC-5; the northwest uses UTC-7 or UTC-8
    CurrencyMXN (Mexican peso)
    Business languageSpanish

    Why now

    Why Mexico is worth watching

    Each point links to the document it comes from.

    • A new federal data protection law for private parties took effect on 21 March 2025 and repealed the law of 5 July 2010.[1]

    • The same law names the Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat as the authority that verifies compliance and imposes sanctions.[1]

    • The Digital Transformation Agency (ATDT) presented a National AI Plan in April 2026, built on an ethical and legal framework, talent and public software, and infrastructure.[4]

    • A decree published on 14 May 2026 requires prior written authorisation before AI is used to clone or simulate a performer's voice or image.[5]

    • A Senate committee announced work on an AI framework law in April 2026, but no general AI law had passed when we checked.[6]

    The rules

    The rules that matter for AI

    What each law or policy means when you build or buy an AI system.

    Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties (2025)

    In force2025Processing needs the person's consent unless an exception applies (article 7), and sensitive data needs express written consent (article 8). People can object to automated processing without human intervention that evaluates them or predicts things such as work performance, economic situation, health or reliability, when it has legal or significant effects (article 26). Security breaches that significantly affect people must be reported to them immediately (article 19).[1]

    Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties: transfers and sanctions

    In force2025A third party receiving personal data, in Mexico or abroad, must be told the privacy notice and takes on the same duties (article 35); article 36 lists transfers that need no consent. Fines run from 100 to 320,000 times the UMA reference unit, depending on the violation, and double for sensitive data (articles 59 and 64).[1]

    Reform of the Federal Labour Law and Federal Copyright Law on artists and AI

    In force2026Published on 14 May 2026 and in force from 15 May. Contracts with performing artists must state the terms and pay for any AI use of their image or voice, and cloning or simulating a performer's voice or performance with AI needs prior written authorisation. Parody and satire are exempt if they do not replace the artist or mislead the public.[5]

    Where AI fits first

    Where AI fits first

    Banking and consumer credit

    Document checks, fraud alerts and Spanish-language customer service, with staff deciding on credit.

    Credit scoring that evaluates a person's economic situation without human intervention is the kind of processing people can object to under article 26.[1]

    Health care

    Summarising records and handling appointment questions, with clinicians making decisions.

    Health data is sensitive data, so it needs express written consent and fines for violations are doubled.[1]

    Media, advertising and dubbing

    Script translation and subtitling, with voice work done by contracted performers.

    Since 15 May 2026, AI cloning of a performer's voice or image needs prior written authorisation, and artist contracts must cover AI use and pay.[5]

    Retail and e-commerce

    Product search, stock forecasting and customer chat in Spanish.

    Using customer data for a new purpose such as model training needs consent again if that purpose was not in the original privacy notice, according to a law-firm reading of the 2025 law.[3]

    Your first steps

    Your first steps

    1. Update your privacy notice to name each AI use of personal data, and ask for consent again where the purpose is new.
    2. Get express written consent before an AI system processes health or other sensitive data.
    3. List every automated evaluation of a person, such as credit, hiring or fraud scores, and set up a way to handle objections and add human review.
    4. Check contracts with AI vendors in and outside Mexico so they receive your privacy notice and accept the same duties.
    5. Write a breach plan that tells affected people immediately when their rights are significantly affected.
    6. If you work with voice or image, get prior written authorisation from performers before any AI cloning.
    7. Track the Senate AI bills and any new regulations from the Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat.

    AI services for Mexico

    AI consulting and development for teams in Mexico

    We work remotely with companies in Mexico, in your time zone, and keep your data under the rules described above.

    AI agents and automation

    Agents that finish multi-step work across your tools, with people approving what matters.
    Learn more

    Document Q&A (RAG)

    Answers from your own documents, with the source shown for every answer.
    Learn more

    AI governance and data protection

    Policies, review steps and audit trails that fit your local data law.
    Learn more

    Software and cloud engineering

    Web apps, integrations and cloud platforms built around your AI use case.
    Learn more

    How we work with you

    How we work with you

    We work remotely with clients worldwide, in the client's time zone. Mexico City is on UTC-6 all year and India on UTC+5:30, so India is 11.5 hours ahead. An Indian day of 9:30 to 18:30 ends at 07:00 in Mexico City, so there is no overlap in normal office hours. We agree a short call early in your morning, which is evening in India, and send written updates so you start each day with progress to review.

    Questions

    Common questions about AI in Mexico

    Does Mexico have an AI law?

    Not a general one as of 29 October 2026. Several bills are in Congress and the government presented a National AI Plan in April 2026. A May 2026 reform covers AI use of artists' voices and images.

    Who enforces data protection now that the INAI is gone?

    The Anti-Corruption and Good Government Secretariat. The 2025 law gives it powers to resolve complaints, verify compliance and impose fines. Its decisions can be challenged through amparo before specialised courts.

    Can a customer stop us using AI to score them?

    They can object to automated processing without human intervention that evaluates them and has legal or significant effects, under article 26. The right does not apply where processing is needed to meet a legal obligation.

    Can we send customer data to an AI provider abroad?

    Yes, if you follow the transfer rules. The recipient must receive your privacy notice and takes on the same duties, and you need consent unless one of the exceptions in article 36 applies.

    Complimentary tools

    Try these first

    Three complimentary tools from our AI Toolkit that suit a team starting out.

    AI readiness score

    Answer a few questions and see where your team stands, in about five minutes.
    Open the tool

    AI use case triage

    Test an idea against data, risk and effort before you spend on it.
    Open the tool

    AI project cost estimator

    Get a rough build and run cost range for a first AI project.
    Open the tool

    Read next

    Sources

    Sources

    Facts checked on 29 October 2026. Numbers in square brackets above match this list.
    1. [1] Cámara de Diputados (text), hosted by the US National Institutes of Health ClinRegs as a machine translation, 2025-03-20. Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties…(clinregs.niaid.nih.gov)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties (New Law, DOF 20-03-2025). Primary text in machine translation of the Chamber of Deputies version, read in full. Used for articles 2, 7, 8, 19, 26, 35, 36, 59 and 64 and the transitory articles. The Chamber of Deputies and DOF sites could not be reached from our location. The Chamber lists a later amendment on 14 November 2025 that we could not read.

    2. [2] Cámara de Diputados, 2025-03-20. Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Partic…(diputados.gob.mx)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (official PDF). Official consolidated Spanish text. Listed for reference; the server refused connections when we tried on 29 October 2026, so we relied on the copy in s1.

    3. [3] EY Mexico, 2025-03-21. Nueva Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los…(ey.com)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Nueva Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares. Professional-firm summary, used for interpretation only: the need for new consent for new purposes, the limit on the right to object, and the transfer of INAI powers after the constitutional reform of 20 December 2024.

    4. [4] Mobile Time Latinoamérica, 2026-09-08. México avanza en su estrategia nacional de inteligencia artificial(mobiletime.la)
      Full title and what we used it for

      México avanza en su estrategia nacional de inteligencia artificial. Press report. Used for the April 2026 National AI Plan, its three pillars and that Mexico has no specific federal AI law. The plan PDF on the ATDT portal returned an access error, so we could not read it.

    5. [5] Asociación Mexicana de Contadores Públicos, Comisión Fiscal, 2026-05-18. Decreto por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la…(amcpdf.org.mx)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Decreto por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Ley Federal del Trabajo y de la Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor (Flash 97). Professional-body summary of the DOF decree of 14 May 2026, used because the DOF site could not be reached. Used for the publication and start dates, new article 305 of the labour law and the written authorisation rule.

    6. [6] Infobae México, 2026-04-30. Desde Comisión del Senado impulsan iniciativa de ley para regular el us…(infobae.com)
      Full title and what we used it for

      Desde Comisión del Senado impulsan iniciativa de ley para regular el uso de inteligencia artificial en México. Press report. Used for the Senate Science and Technology Committee's plan for an AI framework law, still at an early stage.

    This is general information, not legal advice. Several official Mexican sites could not be reached when we checked, so some points rest on a machine translation of the law and on summaries, as noted in the sources. The 2025 law was amended on 14 November 2025 in ways we could not confirm. Check with a qualified Mexican lawyer before you act. Facts checked on 29 October 2026.

    Other country guides

    Starting with AI in Mexico?

    Talk to an engineer. The first call is free, and we start with a readiness assessment before any budget is committed.

    Talk to our team Get your AI score