EU Orders Google to Open Android to Rival AI

The European Union issued two binding orders Thursday requiring Google to give rival AI assistants and search engines greater access to Android and Google Search , marking one of the most aggressive regulatory interventions yet into how Big Tech controls AI distribution.

The two decisions could weaken Google's control over two of the tech industry's most important platforms and stem from technical regulatory proceedings under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires dominant platforms designated as "gatekeepers" to give competitors comparable access to systems and data . Unlike traditional antitrust fines, these specification proceedings mandate operational changes to how Google runs its services in Europe.

What Must Google Change on Android?

The Android decision requires Google to give rival AI assistants the same kind of system features and data access as it gives Gemini, allowing users—rather than Google—to decide whether competing tools can access their data and device hardware, including the ability to interact with apps, respond to voice commands like "Hey Google," and make fuller use of the phone's hardware .

That means Android users could eventually choose ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or other assistants as deeply integrated system assistants instead of Gemini, with comparable access to device capabilities . Under the bloc's Digital Markets Act, Google must allow users to activate their preferred AI assistant via voice commands by July next year .

Until now, AI assistants from competitors have had only limited access to the most important functions of the operating system on Android smartphones—unlike Google's own AI services such as Gemini, which enjoy full access . The Commission's preliminary findings, issued in April after opening proceedings in January, outlined four categories of required interoperability: wake-word invocation, contextual data access, app-level actions, and on-device resource access.

The Search Data Mandate

The European Commission said that by January 2027 third-party search engines should have the same access to search data that currently only Google Search can collect at scale—particularly from AI chatbots . Only Google Search collects usage data on a scale that is crucial for training and optimizing search algorithms, and smaller providers—including privacy-focused alternatives—cannot get anywhere near comparable data volumes .

AI chatbots with search functions are also entitled to receive shared data—a clarification that is relevant for providers of AI search services—and subject to anonymization, Google is to share the same data it collects to optimize its own search services . Google Search holds roughly 95% of the EU search market share—a concentration so complete that the asymmetry in query, click, and ranking signals it generates is measurable and unreplicable at scale .

Google Pushes Back on Privacy Grounds

Kent Walker, president of global affairs for both Google and its parent company Alphabet, said the new rules could backfire by removing safeguards that the company had built to protect user privacy like the vetting of third-party AI assistants, warning that "Europeans' private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent," which "would weaken citizens' privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security" .

Google has said it is concerned the measures could "compromise user privacy, security, and innovation," while the Commission's position is that a company controlling roughly 65% of Europe's mobile operating system market cannot be the sole arbiter of which AI gets to talk to the phone . The EU said there will be limits on how search data can be used and that Google will be able to vet which services get deeper access to Android to ensure safety and security aren't compromised .

How the Proceedings Unfolded

On January 27, 2026, the European Commission opened two parallel specification proceedings against Google, each carrying a six-month statutory deadline, with both required to conclude by July 27 . The Commission sent its preliminary findings to Google as part of the specification proceedings it started on January 27, 2026 under the Digital Markets Act, with these preliminary findings outlining the draft measures Google should implement to ensure that third parties have effective access and interoperability with key capabilities of Android .

On April 27, 2026, the Commission addressed its preliminary findings to Alphabet, including the draft measures that Alphabet must take to ensure effective interoperability with Google Android . Public consultations on both proceedings closed in May, and the Commission issued its final binding decisions on July 16—eleven days ahead of the statutory deadline.

The specification decisions are legally binding, though they remain subject to independent judicial review, meaning Google can take legal action; specification proceedings are not non-compliance investigations and clarify how an existing DMA obligation is to be implemented and do not provide for fines .

Broader DMA Enforcement Context

Google was designated a gatekeeper in September 2023 with eight services—including Google Search, Android, Chrome, Google Play, Maps, and YouTube—and since March 7, 2024, the company has been required to fully comply with all applicable DMA obligations for these services, including the obligation to provide effective interoperability with Android functions (Article 6(7) DMA) and access to anonymized search data for third parties (Article 6(11) DMA) .

The timing is significant. Google delayed the full transition from Google Assistant to Gemini on Android from 2025 to 2026, with the final Assistant shutdown on mobile targeted for March 2026, and the regulatory proceedings opened the same month; as Google completes the process of making Gemini the default AI experience on every Android phone, the Commission is simultaneously defining the terms on which rivals must be allowed to occupy that same position .

These specification decisions arrive just two weeks after another major EU court ruling against Google. Google lost its long-running fight against a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) European Union antitrust fine after the bloc's top judges said regulators were right to punish the US giant for abusing Android's market power, with the European Court of Justice ruling on July 2 that Google's earlier defeat against a European Commission penalty should stand .

What Changed This Week

The European Commission issued two legally binding specification decisions under the Digital Markets Act requiring Google to fundamentally restructure how it operates Android and Google Search in Europe. By July 2027, Android users in the EU will be able to set rival AI assistants as system-level defaults with the same capabilities Google reserves for Gemini. By January 2027, competing search engines and AI services will receive access to anonymized query, click, and ranking data that Google currently collects exclusively.

What to Watch

Google can take legal action against the decisions through independent judicial review , though any appeal would not suspend compliance obligations. Implementation timelines are staggered: search data sharing begins January 2027, while Android interoperability changes take effect July 2027. Non-compliance with the final decision carries potential fines of up to 10% of Alphabet's global annual turnover under Article 26 of the DMA—tens of billions of euros at Alphabet's scale .

The Commission is also pursuing separate non-compliance proceedings against Google over search self-preferencing, with a record DMA fine expected before the summer recess. How Google implements these interoperability requirements—and whether rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and DuckDuckGo can effectively compete with the access granted—will set precedent for AI regulation globally.

Reporting based on coverage from The Verge, Bloomberg, Wilson's Media, Trending Topics, Fortune, Click on Detroit, July 16, 2026.