A turning point is coming for artificial intelligence on Android in the European Union. Brussels has issued a formal request to Google, asking it to share its data with rival search engines and to open its Android operating system to competing AI services such as ChatGPT and Claude.

The European Union’s goal is to assert its influence over the world’s Big Tech companies. It is doing so under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the law that requires the largest technology firms in the world to open up to competition. The aim? To give users greater choice.

The EU’s demand to Google

The European Union has said that Google will have to start sharing its search data beginning in January 2027. What changes for users with Android devices? Starting as early as July 2027, they will be able to benefit from all of the changes.

With these measures, we hope to see alternatives emerge to Google Search and to AI services such as Gemini, so that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice.

Those were the words of Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty. Among other things, everyone who uses the little green robot should in future be able to summon their favorite AI chatbot through voice commands — just as today you say «Hey Google» to activate Gemini or Google Assistant.

The privacy concerns

Google’s response was not long in coming. According to the company, these measures introduce unprecedented risks to users’ privacy and to the security of their devices. The point was made by Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, who argued that AI-based assistants can already access Android today, and that by sharing personal data, Europeans’ searches could be exposed to third-party companies.

For now, the request to Google is legally binding, as it falls within a procedure that was opened back in January (2026). No financial penalties, however, are attached to it in the short or long term.

That said, the EU could still fine Google as soon as the following week — in late July 2026 — as part of a separate investigation under the DMA. Brussels does have the power to impose financial penalties of up to 10% of a company’s global revenue when it breaches the Digital Markets Act.

It now remains to be seen how the whole situation will unfold: whether Google will offer a further response, and whether from 2027 Android will become a system more open to third-party technologies and chatbots. If not, million-dollar fines against the Mountain View giant cannot be ruled out.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Pasquale Conte on July 17, 2026 as «L’Unione Europea obbliga Google ad aprire Android alle AI rivali». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.