EU orders Google to open Android and search data to AI rivals

The European Commission has ordered Google to give rival AI services deeper access to Android and to share anonymised search data with eligible competitors. The two binding measures, adopted on July 16 under the Digital Markets Act, are designed to prevent Google from extending its dominance in mobile operating systems and search into the market for AI assistants.

The Android decision covers 11 operating-system features that Google must make available to competing AI providers on terms comparable to those enjoyed by Gemini. These include activation through a wake word, access to user-approved on-device context, interactions with apps, screen automation, live sensor data and on-device models. In practice, a user could choose another assistant to draft an email, schedule a meeting, translate speech or complete a task across several apps. Consent remains required before an assistant can use sensitive features or data.

The second measure addresses an advantage that is harder to see: the volume of data generated by Google Search. The Commission says Google has held more than 90 percent of Europe’s search market for decades. It must now provide anonymised query, click, view and ranking data to eligible search engines, including AI chatbots with search functions. Regulators said Google’s earlier proposal removed between 90 and 100 percent of unique queries and excluded AI chatbots, leaving little useful access.

The shared data comes with limits. Recipients may use it to develop and improve search services, but not to train general-purpose AI models, build unrelated advertising profiles or systematically copy Google’s results. They must also meet privacy and security requirements and undergo independent audits. Google argues that the decisions weaken safeguards and could expose private searches. The Commission says its rules combine eligibility checks, anonymisation and existing EU privacy law.

The practical effects will arrive in stages. Search-data access is expected from January 2027, while consumers should benefit from the Android changes with the next Android iteration in July 2027.

For AI makers, the ruling tackles two powerful distribution advantages: default access to a phone’s capabilities and the feedback data needed to improve search. For businesses, it could create more credible routes to customers outside Google’s ecosystem. For users, the promise is genuine choice between assistants that can do more than answer questions. Whether that promise becomes reality will depend on implementation, certification costs and the willingness of rivals to build for the new access.