For years, Android's dominant position gave Gemini a distribution advantage no competitor could match. The European Commission just decided that advantage, as it existed, is no longer legal.
The European Commission issued two binding decisions under the Digital Markets Act on July 16, 2026 requiring Google to open parts of Android and Google Search to competitors. It's the first time a regulator has forced open the AI layer of an entire mobile operating system.
Google must open 11 Android AI features to rival assistants before August 2027. According to the Commission, the new measures must let users choose a preferred assistant, activate it by voice, and let that assistant perform actions inside other apps — like booking a taxi, suggesting replies in messaging apps, or answering questions about recently visited places. The explicit goal is for competing AI services to compete with Gemini on equal footing for access to native Android device features.
Beyond Android, starting in January Google will have to share the data it uses to optimize its search engine with OpenAI and other AI chatbots that offer search features — anonymized and priced by a regulated formula, not negotiated case by case.
For teams building consumer-facing AI assistants or agents, this ruling removes a significant structural barrier to entry in the European market: Gemini's privileged distribution within Android stops being an uncontestable advantage. It's worth watching how Google reacts in its technical implementation — regulatory decisions of this magnitude tend to produce prolonged compliance disputes before translating into real access for third parties.
Carlos Montiel is an enterprise AI solutions architect. He implements LLMs, Agents, RAG, and orchestrators for companies across Guatemala and Latin America. Reach out for a consultation.
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