Brussels pushes Google to open Android to rival AI assistants
The European Commission has sent preliminary findings to Google to make AI services from Google competitors work better with Android. The measures would force the tech giant to share access to key Android features, including the "Hey Google" wake word, Gmail integration, and data that’s on the device.
On January 27th, 2026, the Commission launched an investigation into Google to make sure third parties had access and interoperability with Android’s key capabilities.
Earlier this week, the executive branch of the EU published measures to enable competing providers of AI services to innovate and offer deeply integrated AI experiences to users on Android phones and tablets, along with Alphabet’s own AI services.
The European Commission argues that AI services are becoming indispensable access points on mobile devices. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has the means to capitalize on its dominance through its control over the AI chain.
Thanks to Google Cloud, Google has the AI infrastructure to host its own AI tools. Furthermore, the tech company owns one of the most advanced AI models out there (Gemini) and the most popular operating system in the EU (Android).
To enable third parties with competing AI services to effectively interact with Android users, the European Commission has proposed several measures. First of all, competitors should be able to interact with Google’s apps, such as Gmail, Drive, and Photos, and perform tasks accordingly, like sending an email.
In addition, other AI service providers should be allowed to use a custom “wake word” to activate an AI service. On many Android phones, this feature only works with Google’s services, which users can access by saying “Hey, Google.”
Lastly, the European Commission wants AI services to have access to data that’s been stored on users’ devices via an opt-in system.
“AI services are becoming more and more relevant for EU citizens’ daily interaction with their mobile devices. And it is critical to protect innovation by AI companies of all sizes,” says Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
She feels that the European Commission’s proposed measures will offer more choice to Android users about the AI services they use and integrate into their phones and tablets.
The proposed measures went into consultation on Monday. Interested parties can respond to the draft measures up to May 13th.
Clare Kelly, Google’s Senior Competition Counsel, doesn’t agree with Brussels’ proposed measures. She argues that Android is an open ecosystem and that manufacturers have full autonomy to customize their AI services.
“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,” Kelly says in response to Reuters.
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