The European Union has ordered Google to give rival AI companies, including OpenAI, access to its Android operating system and Search engine. The directive, issued under the bloc's digital competition rules, aims to break Google's grip on mobile software and online search and force it to open those platforms to third-party artificial intelligence services.
What the EU order demands
The order requires Google to let competing AI tools integrate with Android and Search on equal terms. That means OpenAI's ChatGPT—or any other approved AI service—could be offered as a default assistant on Android phones, appear in search results, and use Google's search data to train its models. The EU's goal is to prevent Google from using its dominance in mobile and search to lock out the next generation of AI-powered products.
Regulators have not set a specific deadline for compliance, but they have told Google it must submit a plan within weeks detailing how it will open up the two systems. The company could face fines of up to 10% of its annual global revenue if it fails to comply.
Android powers roughly 70% of the world's smartphones, and Google Search handles more than 90% of European queries. For years, Google has used its control over both to push its own services—Assistant, Lens, Bard—while limiting rivals' access. The EU's order would upend that setup. Phone makers like Samsung and Xiaomi could pre-install OpenAI's app instead of Google's, and users could choose an AI search tool that runs on OpenAI's models rather than Google's.
Google has argued that opening its platforms to competitors could compromise security and user privacy. The company has also said it already allows third-party apps and services on Android, but the EU maintains that the terms are not fair or equal.
OpenAI and other competitors
OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, stands to gain the most from the order. The company has been pushing to expand its reach beyond the web and into mobile devices and search. But the order is not limited to OpenAI—any AI company that meets the EU's criteria could apply for access. That includes Anthropic, Cohere, and others building large language models. The directive effectively treats AI as a new category of digital service that must be given the same opportunity as Google's own products.
European regulators have been watching the fast-growing AI market closely. They are concerned that the same dynamics that allowed Google, Apple, and Meta to dominate the last decade of digital services will repeat with AI. The order is part of a broader push under the Digital Markets Act, which designates Google as a gatekeeper subject to strict rules on self-preferencing and interoperability.
Next steps
Google is expected to challenge the order, possibly in the European Court of Justice. The company has already appealed a similar EU ruling on its shopping service and lost. For now, the clock is ticking on a compliance plan that will determine how fast and how far the doors open to AI rivals.
