The European Commission on Monday provided formal guidance to Alphabet's Google about how the company should permit online search competitors and independent artificial intelligence developers to use services currently available to Google's Gemini AI model. The measures are framed within the Digital Markets Act, the EU's regulatory effort to limit anti-competitive conduct by major tech platforms.
The guidance follows a specification proceeding that the Commission opened three months earlier to clarify how Google should align its practices with the DMA. Regulators said that some key capabilities of the Android mobile operating system are effectively restricted to Google's Gemini service on smartphones and tablets.
What the guidance would require
The proposed measures aim to ensure that third-party AI services can interact with applications installed on users' Android devices and carry out actions on behalf of users. Examples cited by regulators include sending an email through the user's preferred email app, placing an order for food, or sharing a photo with contacts.
The Commission framed the guidance as a way to expand consumer choice on Android devices. "Today’s proposed measures will give more choice to Android users about the AI services they use and integrate in their phone, including from the vast range of AI services that compete with Google’s own AI," EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement, according to a Reuters report.
Google's response
Google pushed back on the proposals, arguing that Android already supports an open ecosystem in which diverse AI assistants can operate and where device manufacturers retain the ability to tailor their AI offerings. In a written response cited by regulators, Clare Kelly, Google's Senior Competition Counsel, warned that the EU intervention would "strip away that autonomy, mandate access to sensitive hardware and device permissions; unnecessarily driving up costs while undermining critical privacy and security protections for European users."
Process and potential penalties
The Commission is seeking feedback from third parties and has set a consultation deadline of May 13. It plans to reach a final determination by the end of July on whether Google's practices satisfy the obligations created by the DMA. The DMA allows for significant enforcement measures: companies found in breach can face fines of up to 10% of their annual global revenue.
The guidance addresses how device-level capabilities are allocated and how competing AI services can be allowed to perform user-directed tasks within the Android environment. The Commission and Google offered contrasting views about device-maker control, cost implications, and the balance between openness and user privacy and security.
Summary of implications
The guidance sets a regulatory timetable and framework for opening certain Android functions to non-Google AI services while the Commission evaluates compliance under the DMA. Stakeholders have a limited window to respond before a final decision later this summer.