The European Commission has ordered Google to give rival artificial-intelligence assistants the same reach into Android that its own Gemini service already enjoys, handing down two binding decisions on July 16 under the bloc's Digital Markets Act. The measures require Google to open the microphone, the camera, on-screen contents, a wake word that works while the display is off, and the ability to drive other apps in the background — and to do so in its next major release, Android 18, by August 1, 2027 at the latest. It is one of the most aggressive competition interventions aimed at AI to date, a development this publication's latest AI policy coverage desk has been tracking.
The ruling, reported by Reuters, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, The Verge, and The Hacker News, comes roughly six months after the Commission opened proceedings against Google on January 27. Android runs on around 60% of mobile devices in Europe, making the decision's reach substantial.
Two Specification Decisions, No Fine — Yet
The Commission adopted two binding "specification" decisions. The first concerns Android; the second forces Google to share anonymized search-query, click, and ranking data with rival search engines and with AI chatbots that perform search, for a cost-based fee. Neither decision is itself a fine — specification proceedings only describe what a designated "gatekeeper" must build. However, the Commission's separate power to open a non-compliance case, fines included, remains untouched, meaning Google could face substantial penalties if it fails to comply.
Eleven Features, Split Into Two Tiers
The Android decision covers 11 operating-system features divided into two groups. Five are designated "restricted features," meaning Google may demand certification before an app can access them through a new "Qualified AI Assistant Program." These include centralized access to shared on-device data (AppSearch), the context-aware intelligence behind proactive suggestions such as Magic Cue, App Actions and App Functions, screen automation implemented as Computer Control, and broad system integration.
A certified assistant granted access to these features can retrieve and draft Gmail, create and manage Calendar events, pull content from Drive and Docs, trigger Maps navigation, control YouTube playback and query watch history, read and write SMS, MMS, and RCS messages, and place phone calls. In effect, the Commission is forcing Google to let competitors do the things that currently make Gemini deeply integrated into its own ecosystem.
The remaining six features carry no certification requirement at all, and are opened to any third-party app a user installs. They include ambient data — meaning microphone input, system audio, camera, screen contents, location, and sensors such as the accelerometer, captured continuously in the background — along with always-on hotword detection, long-press invocation, system-level on-device models, third-party model implementation, and background execution.
Equalizing the Consent Standard
A central grievance behind the ruling is that Google's first-party services currently reach device sensors with lighter, reduced consent processes and fewer privacy indicators, while third parties must request runtime consent on every use. The Commission's measures require that rival assistants receive the same consent treatment Gemini does. Hotword detection, which rides on a phone's low-power chip and survives a locked screen and battery-saver mode, is among the capabilities now being opened up, though the feature only reaches phones that carry the necessary hardware.
There are limits. The decision to let several assistants listen simultaneously has been deferred to Android 19, with a deadline of August 1, 2028. Google can still require process isolation and encryption, and it retains a route to ask the Commission to move a feature behind a gate if it can demonstrate good cause.
A Test Case for AI Competition
The decisions arrive amid intensifying global scrutiny of how the largest technology platforms control access to AI. Regulators in the United States and Asia are grappling with similar questions about whether dominant operating systems and app stores can favor their own AI products. By translating its established digital-markets playbook to artificial intelligence, the European Union has effectively declared that Gemini's deep hooks into Android are a competition problem — not a feature.
For Google, the ruling adds a fresh compliance burden to an already heavy regulatory load, and it sets a precedent that other gatekeepers will be watching closely. For rival AI developers and European consumers, it promises a more level playing field on the continent's most widely used mobile operating system. Whether that openness translates into genuine competition with Gemini, or simply a more crowded field of assistants jostling for the same microphone, will become clear as the 2027 deadline approaches.
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