Melike Pala
16 July 2026•Update: 16 July 2026
The European Commission on Thursday adopted two legally binding decisions requiring Google to expand interoperability for rival artificial intelligence (AI) assistants on Android devices and share Google Search data with eligible third-party search providers under the Digital Markets Act.
The EU Commission said in a statement that the measures are intended to ensure fairer competition by giving competing AI services access to key Android functionalities currently available to Google's own AI assistant, Gemini, while improving access to search data for alternative search engines and AI-powered search services.
Under the first decision, Google must enable third-party AI assistants to access Android system features that allow users to activate them through voice commands and perform tasks across applications, similar to Google's own assistant.
The Commission said users will be able to choose alternative AI assistants to complete actions such as booking taxis, generating suggested replies in messaging applications or answering questions based on recently visited locations.
The second decision sets out rules governing Google's obligation to share anonymized Google Search data with eligible third-party search providers, including AI chatbots that offer search functionality.
According to the Commission, access to search data is essential for competitors to develop and improve search services and reduce Google's competitive advantage in a market where it has accumulated large-scale data over many years.
The bloc also established a pricing methodology for access to the shared data and a transparent process for eligible companies to obtain it.
Google will retain the ability to assess whether sharing data with specific recipients presents significant cybersecurity or data protection risks before providing access.
The Commission said Google must begin sharing search data with eligible providers from January 2027, while Android interoperability measures are expected to become available to users from July 2027.
