EU Orders Google to Share Search Data and Open Android to Rival AI

The European Commission finalized new Digital Markets Act rules that compel Google to open its Android platform to competing AI assistants and share search data with rival providers. The legally binding measures target Google's dominance in mobile AI and web search across the EU, where Android holds roughly 60% market share.

On Android, Google must let third-party AI systems integrate at the same level as its own Gemini assistant—gaining access to hot-word activation, screen content, and system automation features currently reserved for Google's model. For search, Google will have to supply anonymized query and ranking data to competitors at a reasonable fee, including treating AI chatbots as search services for data-sharing purposes.

Google pushed back hard. Kent Walker, the company's president of global affairs, warned the decisions "risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans." He argued that deeper third-party AI access could bypass existing safeguards and that sharing search data threatens user privacy, trade secrets, and national security—even though regulators said they're open to adjusting anonymization requirements.

The deadlines are real: Google must be ready to share search data by January 2027 and update Android for broader AI integration by July 2027. For developers building AI assistants or alternative search engines, these rules crack open a market that Google has locked tight for years.