The European Commission adopted two binding decisions that require Google to share anonymized Search data with rival search engines and to open parts of Android to competing AI assistants.
The search data measures give eligible providers, including AI chatbots with search functions, access to anonymized query, click, view, and results-position data they can use to build their own retrieval and ranking systems.
The Commission set out both decisions under the Digital Markets Act, six months after opening the proceedings that produced them.
We covered the search data proposal in April, when it was preliminary findings out for public consultation. The version adopted this month is final.
What the Decision Requires
Google is required to share anonymized data on rankings, queries, clicks, and views from both free and paid Search results under fair and non-discriminatory terms. This includes information such as search queries, metadata like language and device type, viewed URLs, user interactions, and result positions.
However, it does not include Google’s ranking algorithms. Certain sensitive data, like account details, search histories, timestamps, and rare or lengthy queries, are suppressed to protect individuals.
The Commission stated that Google’s current data-sharing approach has failed. The new decision details what effective sharing entails, covering who qualifies and how data is priced, with costs based on recovery rather than open-market rates.
AI chatbots that qualify as online search engines under the DMA are eligible to use the data to improve their systems, but not for training general AI models or replicating Google’s results. These requirements are binding under the DMA but do not involve fines, unlike a separate DMA case related to self-preferencing and ongoing antitrust cases in European courts.
Why the Data Matters for AI Search
This decision extends beyond search engines into AI responses because it involves grounding. AI chatbots use recent web data to ensure their answers are accurate, and the quality of that data depends on the search information behind it. A 2025 explainer on AI Mode explained that Google grounds its models with a system called FastSearch, which relies on its own search ranking signals.
The decision does not give this to competitors. It doesn’t require Google to share FastSearch or its search algorithms and technology. Instead, Google must share anonymized data on queries, clicks, views, and result rankings that eligible parties can use to develop their own retrieval and ranking systems, with grounding being one of the approved uses.
In February, we suggested that this EU process could have more significant long-term implications for AI search than the US antitrust case because whether Google’s search data powers competing AI tools affects the entire system of AI responses, citations, and referrals. The decision marks the point where that issue begins to be addressed operationally. A chatbot with access to extensive anonymized Google Search interaction data starts with a different baseline than one without such data.
Who Can Actually Use It
Which companies benefit first depends on who can already effectively utilize the data, not just on eligibility. All applicants must have at least 50,000 monthly EU users and pass either a two-year operating history or, for newer entrants, an investment test. Security screening and an independent audit are required before Google shares any data.
Established search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo are likely to meet these thresholds quickly and act upon new data rights. Newer entrants must develop the capacity to leverage the data before it influences their offerings.
In the short term, the impact on traffic will be limited by a baseline we’ve tracked throughout the year. AI chatbots still account for a small portion of referrals. According to SE Ranking, all AI platforms combined represented about 0.24% of global internet traffic as of January. Better access to this data could influence what competing engines and chatbots can develop, but it alone does not determine where searchers go.
The Android AI Track
The second decision covers Android. Google must open a set of operating system features to rival AI assistants so a person can activate a competing assistant by voice, similar to the “Hey Google” command, and let it act inside apps, such as booking a taxi or drafting a reply.
Google must add most of these features in the next major Android release, Android 18, and by August 1, 2027 at the latest. Concurrent voice activation, which lets more than one assistant respond to different wake words, has a later deadline of August 1, 2028. Google’s own Gemini assistant already has this level of access on Android, which is the asymmetry the decision is meant to close.
Google’s Response
Google disagrees with both rulings. Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google and Alphabet, wrote that they “risk undermining vital privacy and security guardrails” for millions of Europeans. He also mentioned that Google has repeatedly proposed solutions aimed at achieving the DMA’s objectives. Regarding the search data measures, his concern is about revealing European search data to unfamiliar companies without proper anonymization or users’ knowledge and consent.
The Commission explains that the anonymization involves a multi-layered technical process combined with contractual safeguards, developed with internal and external privacy experts. This process allows Google to review an applicant on cybersecurity or data protection criteria before sharing any data, and the measures can be reassessed if independent testing reveals the safeguards are insufficient.
Why This Matters
Once providers pass the access process, competing search engines and AI chatbots gain access to anonymized search data, similar to what Google has amassed at scale. A broader range of providers using this data could enable more search engines and chatbots that cite sources and generate referral traffic, moving away from the current dominance of a few platforms. However, this doesn’t ensure that outcome. It depends on who qualifies through eligibility and audits, and how well the data performs in actual product development.
Looking Ahead
Initially, searchers and publishers won’t notice any changes. Google will spend the rest of 2026 developing the dataset and establishing terms, with its pricing proposal due by January 2027 at the latest. Each eligible provider will then access the data on its own schedule, after licensing it and agreeing to the price. The main Android changes are due by August 1, 2027, and concurrent voice activation by August 1, 2028.
The Commission plans to review these measures every two years and may reopen them if independent testing indicates the anonymization is inadequate. Whether this will expand the number of engines and chatbots vying for visibility remains uncertain, and the outcome will only be clear once eligible providers begin leveraging the data.
