EU Orders Google to Open 11 Android AI Features to Rivals
The measures cover voice activation, app actions and other capabilities used by Google’s Gemini. Google must comply by Aug. 1, 2027, with multi-service hotword detection due in 2028.
The European Commission adopted binding measures requiring Google to give competing artificial intelligence services access to 11 Android features used by its own services, including Gemini, while also sharing anonymized Google Search data with eligible rivals.
The Android requirements cover voice invocation, contextual data, actions across apps and the operating system, and access to hardware and software resources. Subject to user consent, rival services may offer voice activation, live translation, speech-to-text, app actions and proactive suggestions.
About 60% of European mobile users have Android devices. The measures require effective interoperability without forcing competing services to become the default assistant or service on a device.
Google must implement the main requirements in Android 18 by Aug. 1, 2027, at the latest. Concurrent hotword detection for multiple AI services must be available in Android 19 by Aug. 1, 2028.
The separate Search-data measure requires Google to provide anonymized Google Search data to eligible third-party search engines and AI chatbots that offer search functionality. The arrangement includes pricing rules, security checks and anonymization requirements.
The measures follow proceedings opened Jan. 27 under the Digital Markets Act, the European Union’s competition framework for major digital platforms. The decision specifies access to on-device models, app data and background execution, areas where Google’s own services have broader access than competing assistants.
The European Commission adopted the measures July 16. A separate Court of Justice of the European Union judgment on July 2 upheld a €4.125 billion antitrust fine against Google over Android preinstallation and anti-fragmentation practices. That case did not concern the new AI interoperability requirements.
