- The European Commission demands that Google open Android to rival AI assistants by July 2027.
- Google will have to share anonymized search engine data with competitors starting in January 2027.
- The measures seek to promote competition under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
- Google criticizes the decisions, arguing that they put users' privacy and security at risk.
The European Commission has taken a giant step in its battle with Big Tech by imposing two binding decisions on Google that will forever change how Europeans use their Android phones and search the internet. From now on, the Mountain View giant will have to open its operating system to competing AI assistants and share its search engine data with smaller rivals. The objective is clear: to break the de facto monopoly that Google holds over 60% of the continent's mobile phones and over more than 90% of online searches.
The measure, announced this Thursday by the Vice President for Competition, Teresa Ribera, is based on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and comes after the European Court of Justice confirmed a Google fined historic for abuse of dominant position with Android. Brussels is not imposing a financial penalty now, but rather obligations to act with very specific deadlines.By January 2027, it must begin sharing search data, and by July 2027, users will be able to use rival AI assistants as easily as the good old 'Hey Google'.
Android opens up to competition: goodbye to 'Hey Google' exclusivity
Until now, activating an AI assistant on an Android phone meant using Gemini, Google's operating system. Competitors had very limited access to key operating system functions, which made them "less attractive to 60% of EU users"According to the European Commission, Google will now have to ensure that any AI assistant can be activated using custom voice commands, gestures, or even with the screen off.
The Commission has identified eleven features that Google will have to make freely available. These include voice commands, access to screen context (what the user is currently viewing), the execution of tasks within other applications (such as ordering a taxi or composing an email), and the use of AI models integrated into the device, allowing Try Gemini Pro on Android and other alternatives. Five of those functions, considered more sensitive, may be subject to a certification program Google must design and publish it before May 1, 2027, with "transparent, objective and non-discriminatory" criteria.
The idea, according to Brussels, is that a user can tell their preferred assistant to order dinner "as usual" and the application will open the delivery app, choose the usual dish and confirm the order without the user having to touch the screen. All of this, of course, with "robust safeguards" to protect privacy and securityas Vice President Ribera has emphasized.
Google Search data, within reach of rivals
The second aspect of the decision affects Google's most lucrative business: its search engine. With over 90% market share in Europe for two decades, Google has amassed a volume of information about user search behavior that no competitor can match. Brussels considers this imbalance to be an obstacle to competition. and forces the company to share with other search engines (including AI chatbots with search functions) the same rank, query, click and view data that it uses to optimize its own service.
However, the information must be properly anonymized. The Commission has designed a multi-layered anonymization process, developed in conjunction with privacy experts, which includes removing direct identifiers and grouping each user into a set of at least one thousand people with the same location, device type, and search language. Google may charge for providing this data, but it can only pass on incremental costs plus a reasonable profit margin.and it will not be applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The decision also establishes that AI chatbots that offer search functions may receive shared data, and that Google must share the same data it collects to optimize its own search services, always respecting anonymity. Brussels has stressed that this exchange is "crucial" for the development of rival search engines. and to encourage innovative alternatives, including those focused on privacy.
Google's reaction: "It puts the security of millions of Europeans at risk."
As expected, Google was quick to respond. Kent Walker, the company's president of Global Affairs, issued a statement calling the decisions "a risk to the security and privacy of millions of Europeans." The company maintains that AI assistants already securely access Android functionalities and that phone manufacturers play a fundamental role in its validation.
Walker has warned that the measures "threaten device security" by granting external applications sensitive and powerful permissions without adequate safeguards. He also expressed concern that Europeans' private searches could be exposed to unknown companies.without adequate data anonymization and without the user's knowledge or consent. The company does not rule out appealing the decision to the European Union courts, an avenue it has already explored in other DMA cases.
Sources within the European Union in Brussels have responded that the decision already allows Google to assess, before sharing any data, whether doing so with a specific third party poses serious risks to cybersecurity and data protection. The Commission insists that the measures include "robust safeguards" and that Google has the ability to immediately suspend access to certain features if serious harm is caused to the user.
Deadlines and schedule: When will users notice the changes?
The decisions are legally binding and Google is obliged to implement them under the conditions and deadlines set. For the search data front, the deadline is January 2027.Starting that month, eligible search engine providers will be able to access anonymized data. For Android users, the changes will begin to benefit from them in July 2027, coinciding with the release of Android 18.
Alphabet will be required to submit an initial implementation report within two months of notification, and monthly reports thereafter until the deadlines for each feature expire. The Commission may modify the decision based on future market developments., including assessments carried out by independent third parties.
For the average Android user, the effect won't be immediate but will be tangible in the long run. Starting in the summer of 2027, activating an AI assistant other than Gemini should feel as natural as activating Google Assistant does today: same gesture, same wake word, same level of integration with the rest of the phone's apps. And from January 2027, search engines that are alternatives to Google should start improving their quality., by drawing on data that was previously forbidden.
Neither decision forces device manufacturers to change their default provider or stop promoting Google services on their phones. What changes is more subtle, and perhaps more decisive in the long run: the real possibility that, the next time a European user buys an Android phone, choosing an AI assistant other than Gemini will no longer be a secondary consideration. Brussels has made it clear that its goal is for citizens to have real choices.And with these measures, at least on paper, the path is cleared for alternatives to both Google Search and Gemini to emerge.
