The European Commission ordered Google on Thursday to open Android and Google Search to rival AI assistants and search engines under the Digital Markets Act, with deadlines of January 2027 for search data sharing and July 2027 for Android changes. Failure to comply carries fines of up to 10 percent of Google's annual worldwide turnover — potentially tens of billions of dollars. The rulings could reshape how Gemini competes on the phones it ships on by default and hand meaningful distribution to ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity inside the EU.
The two decisions cover separate but linked parts of Google's business. The Android ruling forces Google to give competing AI assistants the same system-level features and data access it grants Gemini. The Search ruling forces Google to share data generated by Search with rival search engines and — notably — with AI chatbots that the Commission treats as functional search substitutes.
In practice, EU Android users would be able to set ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity as the deeply integrated system assistant, invoke them with voice commands equivalent to 'Hey Google,' and let them interact with apps and phone hardware on the same footing as Gemini. Users, not Google, decide which assistant gets that access. Today, that layer is a Gemini exclusive on the roughly 3 billion active Android devices worldwide, a large share of them in Europe.
Key facts
- 01The European Commission ordered Google to give rival AI assistants comparable Android access as Gemini and share Search data with competing engines and chatbots.
- 02Google has until January 2027 to begin sharing search data and until July 2027 to implement the Android interoperability changes.
- 03Non-compliance could trigger fines of up to 10 percent of Google's annual worldwide turnover, potentially tens of billions of dollars.
- 04ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity are named as assistants that could gain deeper Android integration, including 'Hey Google' voice invocation and app interaction.
- 05The rulings echo remedies in the US search antitrust case and may set the template for how Brussels handles Apple's DMA disputes over Siri.
The Search remedy pushes in the same direction. Competing engines and AI chatbots gain access to Search data historically walled off inside Google, information the Commission argues is necessary for rivals to build a credible alternative. The measure closely echoes remedies ordered in the US search antitrust case, where a US court instructed Google to share search data with competitors.
“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.”— Henna Virkkunen, European Commission executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security, and democracy
The rulings come out of technical proceedings under the DMA, which designates dominant platforms as 'gatekeepers' and requires them to give competitors comparable access to systems and data as the gatekeeper enjoys itself. Unlike a one-shot financial penalty, these orders require Google to change how its products operate, negotiated through extended engagement with the Commission.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission executive vice president overseeing the file, framed the measures as unlocking competition in AI assistants on Android and in search. She said the Commission wants users in the EU to have greater choice of services and invited developers of all sizes to build against the new access.
Google is pushing back on both measures. Kent Walker, the company's president of global affairs, said the rulings threaten privacy and security protections and rejected the Commission's evidence base. Google has repeatedly argued that opening system-level access to third-party assistants creates attack surface it cannot police, an argument Apple has echoed in refusing to release Siri's AI features in the EU, blaming the DMA directly in June.
“Today's decisions risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans. We have repeatedly offered solutions to safeguard users while satisfying the DMA's goals, but these rulings discount extensive evidence of user harm.”— Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs
The Commission answered the security argument in the ruling itself. It said Google will be able to vet which services get deeper Android access to protect safety and security, and that there will be limits on how the shared Search data can be used. In other words, interoperability with guardrails, not a free-for-all.
For Gemini, the competitive stakes are direct. Google's assistant currently benefits from default placement, voice invocation, and hardware access that rivals cannot match on Android. Once that gap closes in the EU, the assistant race in Europe becomes closer to a product fight — where ChatGPT's user base, Claude's coding reputation, and Perplexity's search-first framing all get a real shot at the phone.
The unresolved question is how far Google will push the definition of 'comparable' access before triggering enforcement, and how quickly rivals can ship Android integrations that actually feel native rather than bolted on. Walker's statement signals Google will contest the scope of implementation, which typically means a long tail of technical disputes with Commission staff between now and the 2027 deadlines. Apple's Siri standoff is the near-term test case for whether Brussels holds the line.
The Android and Search rulings together mark the moment the DMA stops being an abstract regulatory framework and starts rewriting distribution economics for AI assistants. If Gemini loses its home-field advantage on Android in Europe, the assistants that win EU users will do so on product quality rather than default placement — a shift that benefits every well-funded AI lab that is not Google, and that Google's competitors have been waiting for since the DMA passed.
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