TECH

The EU is preparing to open Android to rival AI assistants

The opening of Android to rival AI assistants is at the heart of one of the European Commission’s most ambitious regulatory offensives. Under the Digital Markets Act, Brussels is preparing to impose binding obligations on Google that could transform how two billion devices interact with artificial intelligence.

The European Commission opened two specification processes on January 27, 2026, each focusing on a separate obligation under the Digital Markets Act. The first, under Article 6(7), requires Google to ensure third parties “free and effective interoperability” with the Android hardware and software features that Gemini uses exclusively. The second, under Article 6(11), obliges the company to share anonymized search data with competing search engines and artificial intelligence vendors, on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

On April 16, the Commission published preliminary findings on data sharing, in a 29-page document detailing what data to transmit, how it should be anonymized and what audit regime governs it. The public consultation ran until May 1st. The process related to Android interoperability follows a parallel timeline, with imminent conclusions, according to Bloomberg.

In practice, opening Android to competing AI assistants could mean that any user can now set ChatGPT or Claude as the system's default assistant, with the same privileges that Gemini holds. This includes voice activation, access to always-on features, and integration with apps like Gmail or Google Calendar, something that rivals cannot do with the same depth.

Brussels' position is clear. A company that controls about 65 percent of the mobile operating system market in Europe cannot be the sole arbiter of which AI speaks to the phone.

The race between Brussels and Gemini...The timing of this dispute is not accidental. Google completed the transition from Google Assistant to Gemini on Android devices in March 2026, just as the specification processes were gaining momentum. Each software update deepens the integration of Gemini into the ecosystem, which makes the regulatory task more complex as the binding decision approaches.

This decision must be adopted by July 27, 2026. If Google fails to comply, the Commission may open a formal investigation that could result in fines of up to 10 percent of annual revenue globally.

Google does not accept demands passively. The company claims that the measures could "compromise the privacy, security, and innovation" of users, further arguing that the data-sharing proposals "impose ineffective anonymization to increase data volume," putting privacy at risk to satisfy what it describes as "unlimited demands from competitors."

The skepticism is partially justified. Opening access to features such as voice-activated word detection and on-screen content reading to any artificial intelligence vendor creates a wider attack surface. The question of how to audit, in practice, the fulfillment of anonymization obligations remains, for now, without a clear answer from Brussels.

There is also legitimate market tension. OpenAI and Anthropic, the main beneficiaries of these measures, are for-profit companies with commercial interests as pronounced as those of Google itself.

A precedent with global reach...The July decision is not confined to the borders of the European Union. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is closely monitoring developments, and regulatory pressure on digital markets in the United States, although less structured, is growing in Congress.

If Brussels confirms that the Digital Markets Act can effectively, and not just formally, impose the opening of Android to AI assistants, it creates a model that other regulators can adapt. The real test is not the decision itself. It's the implementation.

The European Union (EU) is stepping up measures to compel Google to open the Android operating system to third-party artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. The goal is to ensure that competitors have the same access to device features as Gemini. The European Commission's decision, based on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is scheduled for July 2026.

Key points of the EU intervention(below):

Interoperability access: The European Commission has initiated procedures to ensure that assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude can use Android features, such as voice activation and on-screen content monitoring. These features are currently reserved for Gemini.

Data sharing: Google has been instructed to share search data (ranking, query, clicks) with rival search engines on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms (FRAND).

Deadline and penalties: The EU has set a six-month deadline from January 2026 (ending in July) for Google to implement these changes. Non-compliance may result in fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue.

Antitrust investigation: In addition to the DMA, the EU is also investigating whether Google violated competition rules by using YouTube content to train its AI without compensation.

Context of the action...The move is part of the strict enforcement of the DMA. This law classifies tech giants as "gatekeepers," requiring greater competition and options for European consumers. The focus is not only on voice assistants but also on ensuring that search-based AI has an equal chance to compete.

Simultaneously, the EU is also pressing Meta to reverse the blocking of third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp. The goal is to prevent the exclusion of Meta AI competitors from the European market.

mundophone