Google beats Apple at EU's AI regulation game
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- European Commission ordered Google to give rival AI assistants the same system features and data access it grants Gemini on Android, enforcing Digital Markets Act interoperability requirements for designated gatekeeper platforms.
- Google secured a deadline of July 2027 to bring Android into compliance, roughly a year to expand Gemini, negotiate technical details with the EU, and shape how rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic plug into the OS.
- Apple was told its Siri AI must offer comparable third-party access and asked the Commission for 18 months to comply on a gradual rollout — a proposal the Commission rejected outright.
- Apple publicly framed the DMA as the reason Siri AI won't ship in the EU, dedicating part of its WWDC 2026 keynote to the issue and publishing a blog post titled "Due to DMA, Siri AI delayed in EU for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27."
- Google and Apple have both framed the DMA's interoperability demands as threats to privacy, security, and product integrity, and have worked together on integrating Gemini into Apple's AI products including Siri AI.
- Gemini ships preinstalled as the default AI assistant on many Android devices, giving Google a structural advantage that compounds with its regulatory runway before rivals gain comparable system access.
Why it matters: Google's yearlong grace period locks in Gemini's default-assistant position across billions of Android devices while Apple — which delayed its own AI launch — gets no such runway, meaning EU iPhone users miss Siri AI entirely and rival assistants get an extra year to chase a more entrenched Google on Android.
