For more than a decade, Google has controlled two important entry points to the internet.
Google Search helps people find information, products and businesses.
Android controls how billions of people interact with applications on their phones.
Artificial intelligence is now bringing those two areas together.
Instead of opening a search engine and typing a question, users can ask an AI assistant to find information, compare options, prepare an email, book a service or complete a task inside another application.
Google’s Gemini already benefits from deep integration with Android.
Competing assistants have not always received the same level of access.
That is now expected to change in Europe.
On 16 July 2026, the European Commission issued two decisions requiring Google to provide competing AI services with access to important Android functions and to share selected Google Search data with eligible search competitors. The decisions were issued under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which applies special obligations to large technology platforms classified as gatekeepers.
For businesses, this is more than a dispute between regulators and a technology company.
It offers an early view of how mobile devices, online search and AI assistants may work in the future.
What Has Google Been Ordered to Change?
The European Commission’s decision covers two separate areas.
The first concerns Android.
Google must allow competing AI assistants to interact with 11 important Android features currently used to provide advanced assistant functions.
The second concerns Google Search.
Google must provide eligible search engines and AI chatbots with access to certain anonymised data that Google collects to improve its own search services.
The objective is to prevent Google from using its control of Android and Search to give Gemini an advantage that competitors cannot reasonably match.
Google has criticised the decisions, warning that wider access could weaken privacy and security protections. The European Commission says the measures include user-consent requirements and allow objective security and privacy conditions for access to more sensitive functions.
Android Will Become More Open to Other AI Assistants
An AI assistant becomes much more useful when it can interact with the operating system.
A basic chatbot can answer a question.
A deeply integrated assistant can understand what is happening on the phone and help complete a task.
Under the Commission’s decision, third-party AI services will eventually gain access to Android capabilities involving:
- Voice activation
- Onscreen and application context
- Actions inside other applications
- Background processing
- Device settings
- On-device AI models
- Microphone, camera, screen and sensor inputs
- Cross-application automation
The European Commission says these changes will allow competing assistants to offer experiences closer to those currently available to Gemini.
For example, a user may be able to choose a non-Google AI assistant and ask it to:
- Draft and send an email
- Add an appointment to the calendar
- Send a message through a preferred application
- Translate a conversation
- Find a flight number inside an email
- Adjust phone settings
- Order food through a delivery application
- Complete a task while another application remains open
These functions will still depend on user permission and whether the connected applications allow the requested actions.
Users May Be Able to Choose Different Assistants for Different Tasks
Today, the default assistant built into a phone often has the strongest access to the operating system.
That creates a powerful advantage.
A user may prefer another AI service but continue using the default assistant because it works more smoothly with the device.
The new European requirements are intended to reduce that advantage.
Alternative AI services must receive access that is effective and comparable to the access Google gives its own services. Google will also need to provide documentation, testing opportunities and technical assistance to qualifying developers.
This could lead to a more competitive assistant market.
One user might prefer one assistant for general research, another for workplace tasks and a third for translation or travel.
The Commission’s rules also require concurrent voice activation to be supported later, which could allow more than one assistant to respond to its own chosen wake word. Most of the Android changes are required in Android 18 by 1 August 2027, while concurrent wake-word support is due in Android 19 by 1 August 2028.
Google Search Data Will Also Be Shared
The second part of the decision may be less visible to users, but it could be important to the future of search.
Google collects large amounts of interaction data from its search engine.
This helps it understand which results people choose, which searches are related and how useful different results appear to be.
Under the Digital Markets Act, Google must share certain anonymised ranking, query, click and view data with eligible competing search providers under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Eligible recipients may include AI chatbots that provide search functionality.
This does not mean competitors will receive individual users’ full search histories.
The information must be anonymised, and Google may assess whether an applicant creates genuine cybersecurity or data-protection risks before access is provided. Reuters reported that implementation of the search-data requirements is expected to begin in January 2027.
The purpose is to give competing search services more information with which to improve their own results.
Without access to useful interaction data, a new search engine may struggle to improve as quickly as a platform that already processes enormous numbers of searches.
Search Is Moving Beyond the Traditional Results Page
For businesses, the most important change is not the regulation itself.
It is the way people are beginning to search.
The traditional journey looks like this:
- A user opens Google.
- The user enters a search.
- Google displays a list of results.
- The user clicks a website.
- The user reads the page and decides what to do.
AI assistants can shorten or completely change that journey.
A user may ask:
“Find a reliable cloud backup provider near me.”
“Compare three business firewall options.”
“Which company can host our server in Malaysia?”
“Book a consultation next Tuesday.”
The assistant may collect information from several sources, summarise the options and help the user take action without following the traditional search path.
This means being visible on Google may no longer be enough.
Businesses may also need to be understandable to AI systems.
What Does It Mean to Be Understandable to AI?
AI assistants do not evaluate a business exactly like a person does.
They rely on information that can be found, interpreted and connected confidently.
A website may look attractive but still be difficult for an AI system to understand.
Common problems include:
- Services described only through images
- Important information hidden inside sliders
- Unclear page titles
- Missing business details
- Outdated pricing or product information
- Several pages containing conflicting statements
- Weak page structure
- Important content loaded only after complex scripts
- No clear answers to common questions
- Missing contact and location information
A business website should clearly explain:
- What the company provides
- Who the service is intended for
- Where the company operates
- What makes the service different
- How customers can contact the company
- What support is included
- What limitations apply
- What customers should do next
This benefits human visitors too.
Clear writing is not only an AI optimisation technique.
It is good communication.
Search Engine Optimisation Will Not Disappear
Some businesses may assume that AI assistants will make SEO irrelevant.
That is unlikely.
AI services still need information.
Search engines, websites, product feeds, business directories, news sources, maps and application data all help AI systems understand the world.
The practical change is that optimisation may become broader.
Instead of focusing only on search-result ranking, businesses may need to consider whether their information can be accurately used by:
- Search engines
- AI assistants
- Voice assistants
- Maps
- Business directories
- Shopping platforms
- Industry databases
- Mobile applications
The basic principles remain familiar.
Publish accurate information.
Answer real customer questions.
Use clear headings.
Keep pages updated.
Build trust.
Avoid misleading claims.
Make contact details easy to confirm.
Why Structured Content Will Matter More
AI systems work better when information is organised clearly.
This does not mean every website needs complicated technology.
A well-structured page can already make a major difference.
For example, a service page should not mix every product, price and technical detail into one long paragraph.
It can be organised into sections such as:
- What the service includes
- Who needs it
- Technical specifications
- Security features
- Support coverage
- Pricing approach
- Frequently asked questions
- How to request a quotation
This helps people scan the page.
It also gives search engines and AI systems clearer context.
Where appropriate, website owners can also use structured data markup to identify information such as:
- Organisation details
- Products
- Services
- Articles
- Frequently asked questions
- Events
- Locations
- Contact information
Structured data does not guarantee that an AI assistant will recommend the business.
It simply makes important information easier to interpret.
Applications May Receive Customers Through AI Assistants
The Android decision is not only relevant to AI developers.
It may also affect normal business applications.
The European Commission specifically noted that applications such as email, messaging and ride-sharing services could receive more engagement and discoverability when they become usable through alternative AI assistants.
Imagine a customer saying:
“Book my usual delivery.”
“Schedule an appointment with the service centre.”
“Send this document to our hosting provider.”
“Ask the supplier whether the item is available.”
The AI assistant may perform these actions through connected applications.
For businesses with their own mobile applications, this creates an opportunity.
But it also requires good application design.
An application should have:
- Secure authentication
- Clear permissions
- Reliable APIs or application actions
- Accurate product and service data
- Proper confirmation for important transactions
- Clear error handling
- Audit logs where appropriate
- Controls for financial or sensitive actions
Making an application accessible to AI agents without suitable controls can introduce risk.
Convenience should not remove confirmation.
Businesses Must Prepare for AI Acting on Behalf of Customers
Traditional websites are designed for people.
Future digital services may also receive requests from AI agents acting with a user’s permission.
That changes how transactions may begin.
A customer’s AI assistant may:
- Request availability
- Compare prices
- Ask technical questions
- Prepare an order
- Schedule a meeting
- Start a support request
- Fill in basic information
The business may not always know whether the first contact came directly from a person or through an assistant.
This makes accuracy even more important.
An outdated service description may be repeated by an AI assistant.
An unclear cancellation policy may create a customer dispute.
A confusing price structure may cause the assistant to compare the wrong package.
Businesses should review the information they publish as if someone unfamiliar with the company must explain it accurately to another person.
Because that is increasingly what AI systems will do.
Privacy and Security Cannot Be Ignored
Opening Android to more AI assistants may improve competition.
It also creates legitimate security questions.
The Android functions covered by the decision may allow an AI service to access context from applications, the screen, sensors and other device functions, depending on user consent.
Some functions may also allow the assistant to perform actions inside applications or automate several steps in the background.
This is powerful.
It can also be risky when the assistant is poorly designed, compromised or given unnecessary permission.
Businesses should not assume that every AI assistant installed on an employee’s phone is suitable for company data.
Company policies should address:
- Which AI assistants are approved
- Whether personal assistants can access work applications
- What business data may be processed
- Whether company-owned phones are centrally managed
- Whether sensitive actions require human confirmation
- How access is removed when an employee leaves
- Which permissions are allowed
- Whether device activity is logged or monitored
The operating system may provide user-consent controls.
The company must still decide what is acceptable for work.
What About Businesses in Malaysia?
The European requirements apply to Google’s obligations in the European Union.
They do not automatically require Google to provide the same functionality to Android users in Malaysia.
However, technology changes developed for a major market can influence products elsewhere over time. AI providers may also build new capabilities around the access available in Europe and later adapt those services for other regions. This is a reasonable industry inference rather than a confirmed rollout plan for Malaysia.
Malaysian businesses serving customers in Europe may feel the impact earlier.
Their websites, mobile applications and online information could be used by a wider range of European AI assistants and search services.
Even companies operating only in Malaysia should pay attention to the direction of travel.
Customers are becoming more comfortable asking AI for recommendations and assistance.
The platforms may differ, but the need for clear, accurate and accessible business information remains the same.
What Businesses Should Do Now
The changes will not transform every Android phone immediately.
Most companies have time to prepare.
Here are the practical steps worth taking.
1. Review Your Most Important Website Pages
Start with the pages that explain your main services.
Check whether a first-time visitor can understand:
- What you provide
- Who it is for
- What is included
- Where it is available
- How to contact you
Remove vague marketing language that does not explain the actual service.
2. Keep Business Information Consistent
Your website, Google Business Profile, social media pages and business directories should not display conflicting information.
Check:
- Company name
- Address
- Telephone number
- Business hours
- Product names
- Service coverage
- Website address
- Contact email
Consistency helps customers and automated systems confirm that the information is reliable.
3. Publish Useful Answers
Review the questions customers repeatedly ask your sales and support teams.
Turn those questions into useful website content.
Good topics may include:
- Which solution is suitable for a particular use case?
- What is included in managed support?
- How does backup recovery work?
- What information is needed for a quotation?
- What is the difference between two service plans?
- What happens during migration?
The aim is not to write hundreds of shallow articles.
It is to answer genuine questions properly.
4. Review Your Website’s Technical Foundation
Make sure important pages can be accessed and understood without unnecessary technical barriers.
Review:
- Mobile performance
- Page loading speed
- Broken links
- Indexing
- Sitemap availability
- Page titles
- Heading structure
- Image descriptions
- Structured data
- Security certificates
- Duplicate content
A technically healthy website supports both traditional search and newer AI-driven discovery.
5. Protect Business Applications
Companies operating mobile or web applications should review how external assistants or automated agents may interact with them.
Sensitive actions should require suitable verification.
An AI assistant should not be able to approve a payment, change account ownership or expose confidential information merely because a user issued a vague instruction.
6. Update Your AI and Mobile Device Policies
AI assistants are becoming part of the operating system.
Company policies should therefore cover more than standalone AI websites.
They should also address:
- Mobile AI assistants
- Workplace applications
- Browser-integrated AI
- Email assistants
- File-access permissions
- Voice commands
- Personal devices used for work
The policy should be written in language employees can understand.
7. Do Not Depend on One Discovery Channel
Google remains extremely important.
But businesses should not rely on one platform alone.
Maintain several ways for customers to find and contact the company:
- Company website
- Business listings
- Telephone
- Social platforms
- Industry directories
- Customer referrals
- Partner networks
A more diverse digital presence is useful whether search is controlled by traditional engines or AI assistants.
The Bigger Business Lesson
The European decision shows that control over search and mobile operating systems is becoming central to the AI competition.
Google has an advantage because it controls Android, Search, Gemini and several popular applications.
The EU wants competing AI services to have a fairer chance to reach users and perform similar tasks.
Whether the final result improves competition, creates security problems or produces a mixture of both will take time to determine.
For businesses, the immediate lesson is simpler.
The way customers find and interact with companies is changing.
A website may no longer be visited only by a person clicking a search result.
Its information may be read, compared and summarised by an AI assistant.
An application may no longer receive actions only from someone tapping the screen.
It may receive instructions through an authorised agent.
Companies should prepare their content, applications and security controls for that environment.
Closing Thoughts
Google is being required to open important parts of Android and Google Search to AI and search competitors in Europe.
The Android changes will eventually allow alternative assistants to respond to voice commands, understand user context and perform actions across applications. Google must also share selected anonymised search information with eligible competing services.
The changes will not arrive everywhere at once.
They will also not make traditional search disappear overnight.
But they show where digital technology is heading.
Customers will have more ways to search.
More ways to ask questions.
More ways to compare businesses.
More ways to complete tasks through AI.
Businesses should make sure their information is accurate, their websites are easy to understand and their applications are ready for secure automated interaction.
At Net Onboard, we help businesses build and maintain reliable digital environments through website development, cloud hosting, managed support, cybersecurity, backup and business continuity services.
If your company is reviewing its website, cloud platform, mobile access or AI readiness, Net Onboard can help assess the current environment and recommend practical improvements.