EU Orders Google to Open Android to Rival AI Assistants

The European Commission adopted binding DMA measures requiring Google to give rival AI assistants equal Android access and share search data with competitors.

The European Commission adopted two sets of binding specification measures against Google under the Digital Markets Act on July 16, in the most consequential AI regulatory action this year.

The first measure requires Google to open Android to rival AI assistants. Third-party services will gain access to 11 Android feature groups — including microphone, camera, screen, and speakers — on equal terms with Google's own Gemini. Users will be able to activate their preferred assistant by voice and delegate cross-app tasks such as booking rides or receiving chat reply suggestions. Google must implement these changes in Android 18, due by August 1, 2027 at the latest. An eligibility framework launches in early 2027, with draft terms due by February 1 and final certification terms by May 1.

The second measure compels Google to share anonymized search data with competing search engines, including AI chatbots that offer search functionality. The dataset — covering ranking signals, queries, clicks, and views — must be anonymized using a multi-layered method developed with EU privacy experts and offered on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. Google must finalize the anonymized dataset by November 2026 and its pricing offer by January 2027.

With approximately 60% of EU mobile users on Android, the order targets both the distribution advantage and the data moat Google has built over two decades. Google's president of global affairs, Kent Walker, pushed back, arguing the measures risk undermining privacy and security. The Commission counters that safeguards — user consent mechanisms, independent third-party certification, and GDPR compliance — are built into the measures.

For AI companies competing with Google, this represents a legal path onto the world's largest mobile platform and access to search signal no competitor could otherwise replicate.

Sources: European Commission, CNET