The European Commission on Thursday mandated that Google provide its competitors with greater access to AI capabilities on Android phones and to search data, saying the increased openness is needed to level the playing field in those areas.
The ruling stems from the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which is designed to ensure that powerful tech companies, such as Google and Apple, can't unfairly dominate markets through their size and their gatekeeping powers. In this case, the act requires Google to give third-party apps and services the same level of access to its software as it does for its own services.
"With today's measures, we want to support innovation and diversity in the European Union, enabling fair competition in the markets of AI assistants for Android devices and search engines," Henna Virkkunen, the Commission's executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a statement. "Thanks to these measures we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google's AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services."
Gemini AI has become inescapable in Google software and on Android devices. But AI assistants from other companies have had restricted access to key Android functions, which limits the kinds of services they can create and offer, putting them at an unfair disadvantage, according to the Commission. The new ruling would mean, for instance, that third-party AIs could be activated with a voice command similar to "Hey, Google" or could be delegated tasks such as booking a taxi, the Commission said.
The Commission noted that 60% of phone users in the EU have an Android device.
Thursday's decision also requires Google to share its search data with third-party search engines and with AI chatbots that offer search functionality. That includes data Google uses to optimize its search engine. The Commission said this requirement is important for developing and optimizing third-party search engines, including privacy-focused alternatives.
Google will also have to provide the data at a fair price and through a clear process, the Commission said.
Google's response
In its response to the ruling, Google homed in on what it said are the dangers the DMA-driven changes would pose to users.
"Today's decisions risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans," Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and parent company Alphabet, wrote in a blog post. "We have repeatedly offered solutions to safeguard users while satisfying the DMA's goals, but these rulings discount extensive evidence of user harm."
In an email to CNET, a Google spokesperson reiterated the company's privacy concerns and noted that the alternatives it suggested would ensure, for instance, that query-related data is passed along to recipients while providing better personal data protection. Google also proposed that anonymization be performed by technical and legal experts, but said the EC rejected the proposal.
Google also said that AI agents already have access to choices, but that ultimately, phone-makers play a big role in protecting users by evaluating apps that could have system-level permissions and access to your data. It said that phone-makers provide that access, not Google.
Apple last month said that because of a DMA ruling, access to its new Siri AI would not be available to users in the EU when iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 roll out later this year.
Under Thursday's ruling, Google must start sharing data with search providers in January 2027 and make the Android changes effective as of July 2027.
