EU Orders Google to Open Android to Rival AI Assistants Under Digital Markets Act

Ars Technica / Hacker News (15pts)·medium signal

The European Commission is moving to force Google to open Android to competing AI assistants under the Digital Markets Act, potentially ending the default Gemini/Google Assistant lock-in on Android devices. Google called it an 'unwarranted intervention' that could 'harm users and European innovation.' For AI assistant builders (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI ChatGPT, Mistral Le Chat), this could open a massive distribution channel — Android has ~72% global mobile market share — and fundamentally change how users access AI on their phones.