Google was ordered to open up Android and search to competitors in Europe

Google must give its artificial intelligence assistants and rival search engines greater access to key parts of Android and Google Search after the European Union ordered the company to comply with the bloc’s digital antitrust rules.

Both DecisionsThursday’s decision could weaken Google’s control over two of the tech industry’s most important platforms, and will have far-reaching consequences for the company, shaping the future of its artificial intelligence tool Gemini, and opening new opportunities for competitors to make gains.

The provisions arise from technical regulatory procedures under the European Union Digital Markets Law (DMA), which requires dominant platforms – called “gatekeepers” – to give competitors similar access to systems and data as they enjoy them. Unlike financial penalties, the measures require Google to change the way it operates in order to make its services DMA-compliant and are developed through extensive engagement between the company and regulators.

The two actions focus on separate but thematically similar parts of Google’s business: how rival AI assistants could work on Android, and how rival search engines and other AI-powered chatbots could access data generated by Google Search.

The Android decision shows how Google must give competing AI assistants the same kind of system features and data access as it grants Gemini. In practice, it requires greater interoperability, allowing users – rather than Google – to decide whether competing tools can access their data and device hardware. This can include the ability to interact with apps, respond to voice commands such as “Hey Google,” and take full advantage of the phone’s hardware. This means that Android users can finally choose ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or other assistants as full-fledged system assistants instead of Gemini, with similar access to the device’s capabilities.

The second action focuses on Google search and the data it creates, and identifies how competing search engines and artificial intelligence services can access information that Google has historically held. Notably, the EU said this includes AI-powered chatbots, which effectively act as search engines in some cases. The data-sharing procedure broadly mirrors the treatments required in US research Antitrust casewhere Google was directed to share valuable search information with competitors that could help enhance their competitiveness.

Google has rejected both measures, arguing that the requirements pose an unacceptable risk to user privacy and security, as well as endangering its products. The EU said there will be limits on how search data can be used and that Google will be able to vet which services have deeper access to Android to ensure safety and security are not compromised.

“With today’s actions, we want to support innovation and diversity in the EU, and enable fair competition in the AI ​​assistant markets for Android devices and search engines,” said Hina Virkonen, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Technical Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU will be able to enjoy a greater choice of services. We welcome all developers, big and small, to explore these new opportunities, which will certainly benefit users as well.”

This story is evolving…