EU Orders Google to Open Android to Rival AI Assistants

The European Commission ordered Google on July 16, 2026 to let rival AI assistants access the same deep Android system functions that Gemini currently has to itself, with the changes required to reach users by July 2027. I’ve been tracking the EU’s fight with Google over Android for a while now, and this is the first ruling that goes straight after the AI layer instead of the app store or the browser default. It’s a big deal for anyone who’s ever tried to set a third-party assistant as their default on a Samsung or Pixel phone and hit a wall of grayed-out permissions.

What the Commission Actually Ordered

Under the Digital Markets Act, the Commission issued two separate sets of binding specification measures against Google on July 16. The first targets AI interoperability on Android. Right now, competing AI assistants — think Perplexity, a repackaged Llama assistant, or whatever a phone maker bundles — only get partial access to core Android functionality. Google’s own Gemini gets the full stack: system-level hooks, background access, deep integration with calls, messages, and device settings.

The Commission’s guidance says that has to change. Users must be able to activate a third-party AI assistant by voice, the same way they’d currently say “Hey Google,” and that assistant needs a real shot at the same system-level permissions Gemini enjoys. Google has to make these changes live for users starting July 2027 — not immediately, which gives the company over a year to comply (or to keep negotiating, which is very on-brand for how these DMA fights tend to go).

The second measure is a separate but related shot at Google Search. Starting January 2027, Google has to share anonymized search data with eligible competitors, using a multi-layered anonymization method the Commission says it built in coordination with privacy experts and in line with draft joint guidance on how the DMA interacts with GDPR. That data-sharing piece matters for AI too, since search data is exactly what a lot of AI assistants and answer engines need to compete with Google’s own results quality.

Why This Is Different From the Usual EU-Google Fights

I’ve watched the EU go after Google’s default search deals, its app store fees, and its ad-tech stack for years. Those cases were mostly about money and market share for existing categories of product. This one is explicitly about who gets to be the AI layer on top of a phone.

That’s a much bigger prize than a search default. If you control the assistant a user talks to by voice — the thing that can read a text, book a reservation, or summarize a doc for you — you control the interface people actually use, regardless of which browser or search engine sits underneath. Google clearly understands the stakes here, and its response wasn’t subtle.

Google’s Response

Kent Walker, Google’s chief legal officer, pushed back hard the same day, arguing the decisions risk weakening privacy and security protections for European users. His specific worry on the search-data order: private search queries could end up flowing to companies users have never heard of, with the anonymization not doing enough to prevent re-identification.

It’s worth taking that concern seriously even as a skeptic of Google’s market position — anonymized datasets have a rough track record of staying anonymous once they’re combined with other data. But it’s also the same argument Google has made against basically every DMA remedy so far, so regulators aren’t likely to treat it as a special exception this time either.

What This Means If You’re an Android User in the EU

Nothing changes today. The Android AI interoperability requirement doesn’t take effect until July 2027, so if you’re using a Galaxy or Pixel phone right now, Gemini still has the system-level advantage it’s always had. The practical shift will show up gradually: expect phone makers to start advertising “choose your AI assistant” the way they once advertised default browser choice screens, and expect Google to spend the next year in continued back-and-forth with Brussels over exactly how much access is “enough.”

Outside the EU, don’t expect Google to voluntarily extend the same access. The DMA only binds Google’s conduct for EU users, and the company has a long history of keeping DMA-driven changes geographically fenced rather than rolling them out globally. If you want a third-party assistant with deep Android hooks in the US right now, you’re mostly stuck with whatever a manufacturer has pre-negotiated.

The Bigger Pattern

This lands about a week after China unveiled its own AI cooperation alliance and roughly two weeks after the UN’s scientific panel warned governments that no one can currently guarantee advanced AI avoids catastrophic harm. Regulators on multiple continents are converging on the same instinct at the same time: don’t let one company’s AI stack become the default operating layer for a device category, and don’t wait for the technology to fully mature before setting rules. Colorado did something similar on the algorithmic-discrimination side with its AI Act, and Google’s own Gemini has been the subject of plenty of scrutiny already, including how its benchmark claims hold up under independent testing.

What’s notable about the Android order specifically is the mechanism: it’s not a fine, and it’s not a ban. It’s a forced-interoperability mandate, the same tool the EU has used on messaging apps and app stores. If it works the way the Commission intends, it could become the template other regulators reach for whenever a dominant platform tries to make its own AI the only one with full access.

Quick Reference

FAQ

Does this mean I can switch my Android assistant today?

No. The order sets a compliance deadline of July 2027 for the deeper AI access. You can already set a different default assistant app on most Android phones, but it won’t have the same system-level hooks Gemini has until Google implements these changes.

Will this apply outside the European Union?

Not automatically. The Digital Markets Act only governs Google’s conduct toward EU users. Google has historically kept DMA-mandated changes geographically limited rather than extending them worldwide, so users elsewhere shouldn’t expect the same access unless Google decides to roll it out globally on its own.

What’s the difference between this and the search-data order?

They’re two separate rulings issued the same day. The Android order is about giving rival AI assistants the same system permissions Gemini has. The search-data order is about Google sharing anonymized search data with competing search and AI companies starting January 2027. Both fall under the DMA, but they target different parts of Google’s stack.

Has Google said it will appeal?

Google’s July 16 statement objected to the decisions on privacy and security grounds but stopped short of confirming a formal appeal. Given Google’s track record with other DMA rulings, further legal pushback before the 2027 deadlines wouldn’t be surprising.