The European Commission has moved to force Google to give rival AI services the same access to Android features currently reserved for its own Gemini assistant, and to share anonymized search data with competing search engines and AI chatbots under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The action comes through two parallel “specification proceedings” opened in January that the Commission says are designed to help Google understand its obligations rather than assume non-compliance. The first, under Article 6(7) of the DMA, targets Android interoperability, requiring Google to give third-party developers free and effective access to hardware and software features that Gemini currently uses. The second, under Article 6(11), compels Google to share anonymized ranking, query, click, and view data from Google Search with competitors on “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory” (FRAND) terms.
“Millions of Europeans rely daily on online search engines, and increasingly on AI services,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “Our goal is to keep the AI market open, unlock competition on the merits and promote innovation, to the benefit of consumers and businesses.”
The Commission sent Google preliminary findings in April outlining specific draft measures. These would require Google to allow competing AI services to be activated by a custom wake word, interact with applications on users’ Android devices, and perform tasks such as sending an email or sharing a photo, capabilities currently reserved for Gemini.
“The proposed measures will also enable competing providers of AI services to innovate and offer deeply integrated AI experiences to users on Android phones and tablets,” the Commission said in a statement. A public consultation on the draft measures ran through May 2026, with third parties invited to submit comments.
Google has pushed back, arguing the requirements could compromise user privacy and security. Clare Kelly, the company’s senior competition counsel, said in a statement that the intervention “would strip away that autonomy, mandate access to sensitive hardware and device permissions, unnecessarily driving up costs while undermining critical privacy and security protections for European users.”
The specification proceedings give the Commission a six-month window from January to hand down a final, enforceable ruling. Companies found in violation of the DMA can face penalties of up to 10% of their worldwide annual revenue.
The two proceedings are separate but related. The Android interoperability track addresses how deeply AI services can integrate with the operating system, while the search data track addresses whether AI chatbot providers and rival search engines can access the same query and ranking data that powers Google Search.
The Commission said it expects to issue preliminary findings within three months and reach conclusions within six months. Non-confidential summaries will be published to enable third-party comment before final measures are imposed.