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Europe Moves to Prevent Google from Controlling the AI Gateway
The European Commission is using the Digital Markets Act to open Android and Google Search data to competing artificial intelligence services
By eEuropa
Bruxelles, 17 July 2026 - 6 MINUTES READ
Bruxelles, 17 July 2026 - 6 MINUTES READ
The European Commission has taken another important step in applying EU competition rules to the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence market. On 16 July 2026, it provided Google with detailed guidance on how the company should improve interoperability between its Android operating system and third-party AI services, while also facilitating access to data generated through Google Search.
The initiative demonstrates that the Digital Markets Act is no longer focused only on app stores, online advertising or traditional search services. It is increasingly becoming one of Europe’s principal instruments for preventing dominant digital platforms from extending their market power into artificial intelligence.
Google controls several strategic entry points into the digital economy. Android is the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, while Google Search remains a major gateway to online information. As AI assistants become embedded in smartphones, browsers and search engines, access to these infrastructures can determine which services reach users and which companies obtain the data required to develop competitive AI products.
The Commission’s guidance concerns two specification proceedings opened under the DMA. The first examines how competing AI providers can obtain effective interoperability with Android functionalities. The objective is to prevent Google’s own AI services from enjoying technical advantages that are unavailable to rival developers.
The second proceeding addresses access to anonymised search data. Search queries, rankings and user interactions represent valuable inputs for improving search engines and AI-powered information services. Access to appropriate datasets could help alternative providers train and refine their technologies without having to recreate decades of search activity from the beginning.
The Commission identified AI interoperability, self-preferencing, access to data and cloud dependencies as central competition issues during its first review of the Digital Markets Act. The review concluded that the DMA remains fit for purpose but that enforcement must increasingly address emerging AI services and the infrastructure on which they depend.
For European start-ups and software developers, the implications could be significant. Easier access to Android functions may allow independent AI assistants to interact more effectively with devices, applications and connected services. Better access to search data could also reduce one of the structural advantages enjoyed by established platforms.
However, implementation will be decisive. Interoperability must be technically usable, economically viable and available without unnecessary delays. Data-sharing arrangements must provide genuinely useful information while respecting privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual-property requirements.
The proceedings also illustrate a broader transformation in EU competition policy. Regulators are attempting to intervene before control over operating systems, data and cloud infrastructure creates an AI market dominated by a small number of vertically integrated companies.
Businesses should therefore monitor not only conventional antitrust investigations but also DMA specification proceedings, gatekeeper obligations and emerging rules governing data access. These measures may create new commercial opportunities for AI developers, search providers, app companies and European digital platforms.
Explore the eEuropa EU Competition Rules Hub for structured access to EU antitrust policy, merger control, State aid, cartels, digital-market enforcement and the latest competition developments.
The initiative demonstrates that the Digital Markets Act is no longer focused only on app stores, online advertising or traditional search services. It is increasingly becoming one of Europe’s principal instruments for preventing dominant digital platforms from extending their market power into artificial intelligence.
Google controls several strategic entry points into the digital economy. Android is the world’s most widely used mobile operating system, while Google Search remains a major gateway to online information. As AI assistants become embedded in smartphones, browsers and search engines, access to these infrastructures can determine which services reach users and which companies obtain the data required to develop competitive AI products.
The Commission’s guidance concerns two specification proceedings opened under the DMA. The first examines how competing AI providers can obtain effective interoperability with Android functionalities. The objective is to prevent Google’s own AI services from enjoying technical advantages that are unavailable to rival developers.
The second proceeding addresses access to anonymised search data. Search queries, rankings and user interactions represent valuable inputs for improving search engines and AI-powered information services. Access to appropriate datasets could help alternative providers train and refine their technologies without having to recreate decades of search activity from the beginning.
The Commission identified AI interoperability, self-preferencing, access to data and cloud dependencies as central competition issues during its first review of the Digital Markets Act. The review concluded that the DMA remains fit for purpose but that enforcement must increasingly address emerging AI services and the infrastructure on which they depend.
For European start-ups and software developers, the implications could be significant. Easier access to Android functions may allow independent AI assistants to interact more effectively with devices, applications and connected services. Better access to search data could also reduce one of the structural advantages enjoyed by established platforms.
However, implementation will be decisive. Interoperability must be technically usable, economically viable and available without unnecessary delays. Data-sharing arrangements must provide genuinely useful information while respecting privacy, cybersecurity and intellectual-property requirements.
The proceedings also illustrate a broader transformation in EU competition policy. Regulators are attempting to intervene before control over operating systems, data and cloud infrastructure creates an AI market dominated by a small number of vertically integrated companies.
Businesses should therefore monitor not only conventional antitrust investigations but also DMA specification proceedings, gatekeeper obligations and emerging rules governing data access. These measures may create new commercial opportunities for AI developers, search providers, app companies and European digital platforms.
Explore the eEuropa EU Competition Rules Hub for structured access to EU antitrust policy, merger control, State aid, cartels, digital-market enforcement and the latest competition developments.
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