The European Union has ordered Google to give competing artificial intelligence assistants and search engines greater access to its Android smartphones and some of its Search data.
According to Robert Hart of The Verge, the EU issued two decisions under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), requiring Google to provide rivals with "comparable" access to Android and certain Search data. The DMA is the bloc's competition law aimed at reining in the largest technology "gatekeepers."
The New York Times reports that Google has been ordered to give A.I. rivals more access on Android smartphones. Engadget frames the move similarly, saying the EU has ordered Google to open up key Android handset features to rival AI voice assistants.
The requirements extend beyond established search competitors. According to reports carried by Investing.com and Yahoo Finance, the EU's order covers opening Android and search data to OpenAI and other AI rivals.
Taken together, the decisions signal that European regulators want competing assistants and search tools to plug into the Android ecosystem on more even terms, rather than being disadvantaged against Google's own services on the world's most widely used mobile operating system.
Why it matters: Because Android runs on a large share of the world's smartphones, forcing Google to share access could reshape how billions of people encounter AI assistants and search on their phones, giving companies like OpenAI a foothold that has until now been controlled by Google.