European Commission Requires Google to Open 11 Android APIs to Rival Assistants by July 2027

On July 16, the European Commission published two binding specifications against Alphabet under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The first mandates Google to ensure that 11 Android features currently reserved for Gemini will be available to rival AI assistants by July 2027. The second requires sharing, starting in January 2027, search data that only Google Search collects at scale with rival search engines and chatbots. CNN Business reported on July 19, investigating the public confrontation between the American company and Brussels.

The technical obligation is specific. According to Aiman Ezzat, when commenting on the package in a tech panel in Paris, the immediate outcome is that assistants like Perplexity, Claude, Mistral Le Chat, and future interfaces from OpenAI and ByteDance will be selectable as defaults by European users, activated by voice like Gemini and capable of interacting within applications, for instance, to book transportation or respond to messages. For Andreas Schwab, the rapporteur of the dossier in the European Parliament, the specification "closes a gap that the original DMA left open by treating voice assistants as accessories of the operating system, whereas they have become the AI distribution surface."

Google's Counterargument

Google is not solely appealing to jurisdiction. According to a statement released by the company and cited by CNN, the requirement to expose 11 features of the operating system "would create significant security risk by granting sensitive and powerful permissions to external applications." The argument echoes the defense Apple has used for the past two years to explain why iOS does not expose similar functions to AirDrop, Handoff, or NFC payment to third parties. The Commission responded that the specification includes privacy, device integrity, and security safeguards, without detailing the technical design.

The point that undermines the European thesis is the timeline: Google has until July 2027 for the Android changes and until January 2027 for the data sharing, windows during which the company can challenge technical details in court, as it did with the gatekeeper dossier of 2024. Actual enforcement depends on the Commission issuing a non-compliance decision that triggers the expected fine of up to 10% of global revenue under the DMA. No fines of this magnitude have been imposed so far against any gatekeepers.

The Real Geography of the Struggle

Google and Apple together account for 5 billion active smartphones. In Europe, the installed base is close to 700 million devices, with Android market share exceeding 65% in nearly all countries in the bloc, according to StatCounter's survey in July 2026. It is this denominator that gives traction to Brussels' hypothesis that forcing interoperability opens distribution for rival assistants that currently depend on app stores to reach consumers.

The reading beyond the EU is straightforward. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission is monitoring the case as a reference: in a leaked internal memo to The Information in May, agency technicians described the European specification as "the closest technical design we could apply under the Sherman Act if we went to merits in the search monopolization case." In the United Kingdom, the Competition and Markets Authority has already indicated its intention to mirror the package under the new strategic conduct regime, with a public consultation expected in September.

In Brazil, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) and Anatel are monitoring the decision. CADE has its own ongoing process against Google regarding behaviors in Android and Search, opened in 2023. A competition lawyer interviewed by Valor earlier this month stated that the European specification "will become a mandatory piece of evidence in the Brazilian process at the next stage," as it establishes a technical precedent on what constitutes sufficient interoperability in voice assistance.

Where Analysis Must Resist the Wishful Thinking

Celebrating that the EU has "solved" the AI distribution problem is premature. Three dynamics work against the practical effectiveness of the package. First, the timeline until 2027 allows the market to consolidate in new surfaces, such as glasses and wearables, where the DMA currently has no designated gatekeeper. Second, sharing search data with competitors runs into GDPR restrictions on reprocessing, a tension that the Commission itself will have to mediate. Third, Google has already demonstrated the capacity to comply with previous DMA decision texts without actually altering the user experience, as seen in the case of browser choice on Android in 2024.

The package does not decree the end of the mobile AI distribution monopoly. It establishes a technical dispute over what "equivalent access" means, a dispute that will still undergo two cycles of appeal before any effect on the European corporate buyer.