The European Commission has ordered Google to open Android’s deepest AI features to competing AI services by August 1, 2027, giving the company roughly a year to comply before any legal challenges could further delay the process.
Under the ruling, third-party AI apps must be granted the same system-level access that Google currently reserves for Gemini.
Regulators identified 11 specific access points Google must open up. These include basic interactions such as responding to voice-activation commands and interpreting context from device sensors.
Rivals must also be allowed to execute background tasks across multiple apps and tap directly into on-device AI hardware and software resources.
What This Means for Android Users in Europe
For Android users in the EU, the order could eventually mean that AI assistants from companies other than Google can do everything Gemini does on the same phone, including hands-free activation and background automation.
Whether that translates into a better or more complicated experience depends on which apps choose to pursue that access and how responsibly they handle it.
Google has already signaled its objections, warning that the requirements “risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans.”
The company says it will continue pushing for what it calls a balanced approach, though it has not said whether it will appeal the ruling or comply with the current timeline.
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Google Chose a Different Path Than Apple
Apple took a different posture when it faced the same regulatory pressure. Rather than launch its upgraded Siri AI in Europe and deal with enforcement afterward, Apple withheld the feature entirely from EU users when iOS 27 ships.
Apple argued that the Digital Markets Act would require granting any AI system nearly unlimited access to a user’s device, a condition it said was incompatible with its privacy commitments.
The European Commission responded by saying that Apple failed to develop interoperability solutions that met EU standards and instead sought a blanket exemption.
Google moved in the opposite direction. It rolled out full Gemini integration for Android users in Europe first and is now working through the compliance process after the fact.
EU users in both camps currently sit in different positions: Android users in Europe have Gemini, while iPhone users there are waiting on an advanced Siri that may not arrive in its full form anytime soon.
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The Privacy Question Regulators Have Not Fully Answered
The core tension in both cases is the same. Giving a third-party AI app the ability to activate through a wake word, monitor sensor data, and run tasks across every app on a phone is a significant level of trust to extend to any software company.
Google built those protections for Gemini because it controls the platform. Extending those same privileges to dozens of external AI providers introduces accountability questions that the Digital Markets Act does not clearly resolve.
Google has until August 2027 to implement compliant systems, assuming no successful legal appeal extends that window.
The European Commission’s parallel pressure on Apple over the same interoperability rules shows regulators intend to apply the standard consistently across both major mobile platforms.
