EU antitrust officials presented Alphabet's Google with a set of proposed measures aimed at ensuring competing online search services and artificial intelligence developers can access key Android capabilities now reserved for Google's Gemini AI model. The guidance, issued by the European Commission on Monday, is part of the bloc's effort to enforce the Digital Markets Act and follows a specification proceeding opened three months ago to test Google’s compliance.
Regulators said that Google presently restricts the use of certain core functions in its Android mobile operating system to support its Gemini AI on smartphones and tablets. The Commission's suggested remedies are designed to let alternative AI services effectively interact with applications on users' Android devices and carry out tasks on their behalf - for example, sending an email via the user's chosen email app, placing a food order, or sharing a photo with friends.
The European Commission set a deadline of May 13 for third parties to submit feedback on the proposal. It intends to issue a final determination on whether Google complies with the DMA by the end of July. The DMA includes enforcement powers that allow regulators to impose fines of up to 10% of a company's annual global turnover in the event of a breach.
"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.
Google pushed back on the Commission's approach, arguing that Android already supports an open ecosystem where AI assistants can develop and where device manufacturers retain full control to tailor AI services. Clare Kelly, Google’s Senior Competition Counsel, said the proposed intervention would remove that autonomy and would force access to sensitive hardware and device permissions. In an emailed statement, Kelly added that the measures would raise costs and compromise privacy and security protections for European users.
"This unwarranted 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," Clare Kelly said.
Regulators also previously issued instructions to Google this month about enabling rival search engines and AI chatbots to access its search data as part of the DMA compliance process. The Commission's feedback period and the July timetable will determine whether the proposed measures become binding requirements under the DMA framework.
Context for markets and industry participants
The proposed measures and the Commission's enforcement timeline create a clear compliance window for Google while signaling potential operational changes for the broader mobile OS and AI service ecosystem. The outcome could affect how device makers integrate third-party AI services, how developers connect AI assistants to device-level functions, and how regulators apply DMA rules to platform incumbents.