Google ordered to give AI rivals more access to Android smartphones

European Union regulators on Thursday ordered Google to lift restrictions that limit how rival artificial intelligence companies can reach Android smartphone users, a sign of increased government scrutiny of the booming artificial intelligence business.

The decision comes in response to concerns that Google will use Android’s huge user base, which powers about 60 percent of all smartphones in the European Union, to gain an edge in the growing artificial intelligence market and undercut rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

As the everyday use of artificial intelligence grows across society, a commercial battleground is emerging on how to reach users through their smartphones. AI companies believe that the more deeply an AI service is integrated into a person’s handheld device — including email, photos and other applications — the more a chatbot can serve as a personal assistant. Imagine asking a chatbot to order a car service, suggest a reply to a text message, or provide information about a recently visited location.

Google and Apple are seen as having a major advantage because the companies make the world’s most used smartphone software, allowing them to set the rules for app developers trying to reach mobile users.

On Thursday, EU regulators said the company would have to give competing AI services an “equal footing”, including through voice commands and the ability to delegate actions in apps. The decision is binding and Google is required to make changes by next July.

Google has also been ordered to start sharing anonymized search engine data with rivals, including makers of artificial intelligence chatbots, by January in a bid to create more competition.

Google has not said whether it plans to challenge the decision in court. The company said European regulators risked creating new security and privacy vulnerabilities because third-party developers would gain access to sensitive information stored on a smartphone or search history.

“Today’s decisions threaten vital privacy and security safeguards for millions of Europeans,” Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, said in a statement.

The European Union has long been the most aggressive regulator of the technology industry’s business practices in the world, and is now expanding its scrutiny to artificial intelligence. Authorities see the technology as a new entry point for people to access digital services and the online world.

The EU’s competition law, the Digital Markets Act, requires big tech companies like Google and Apple to ensure the interoperability of their products. This means third-party developers should be able to offer competing AI digital assistants instead of Google’s Gemini and Apple’s Siri.

Competition law creates friction. In June, Apple said it would hold back the release of new AI features for Siri in the European Union after failing to reach an agreement with regulators.

At the same time, AI companies are making moves to develop their own devices to loosen the grip of Apple and Google. Last year, OpenAI hired former Apple top designer Jony Ive to lead its efforts to develop new hardware products focused on artificial intelligence.

Last week, Apple sued OpenAI, accusing it of stealing company secrets. OpenAI has denied the allegations.