DMA applied: the Commission forces Google to open Android and Search to rival AI assistants

In plain terms

Until now, the question "what if an assistant other than Gemini became the default on Android?" remained theoretical. The European Commission has just made it a reality: Google must open up. The battle is shifting from the product to compliance.

Two decisions, one same shift

On July 16, 2026, the Commission issued two decisions under the Digital Markets Act which, taken together, force Google to give rival search engines and AI assistants, according to The Verge, "greater access to key parts of Android and Google Search". The article states that these measures "could weaken Google's control over two of the tech industry's most important platforms". The full details of the technical remedies are not yet public as of the publication date, but the direction is clear: it is no longer about behavioral commitments (like the choice windows of the 2020s), but about technical access to system components.

What is at stake is not Google Search as a product, but two infrastructure building blocks: the assistant layer on Android - the place where the user chooses who responds when they long-press the home button or activate the voice assistant; and the Search usage signals - what a competing engine sees when it attempts to challenge Google on relevance.

Under the hood

The DMA logic that the Commission is deploying here is that of the gatekeeper: Google is designated, its "core platform services" are listed (including Android and Google Search), and the opening is not a favor but a remedy. The upcoming dispute will focus on the technical scope - which APIs, what tolerated latency, what level of parity, and above all: what does real access to usage signals look like without data transfers incompatible with the GDPR.

So what

Three immediate consequences. For a European (or American targeting Europe) AI assistant builder: the distribution window opens, but the integration burden increases - it will be necessary to talk to the Android stack at the OS level, not just launch an app. For Google: the implementation cost will be high, and each parameter left to the regulator creates permanent litigation. For other regulators (UK CMA, Japanese JFTC, Indian CCI): the Commission has just written a model that will be copied - fewer trials, more direct remedies. The era of "we negotiate a commitment" gives way to that of "we open the API".