The European Commission issued preliminary findings to Alphabet, Google's parent company, on April 16, detailing specific measures required for compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The measures demand that Google open its decades-old core search data to competitors and AI chatbots. This initiative aims to curb the market dominance of major US tech firms.
The proposed measures cover six key areas: eligibility of data beneficiaries (explicitly including AI chatbots with search capabilities), the scope of data Google must share, methods and frequency of sharing, anonymization measures for personal data, FRAND pricing parameters, and procedures for beneficiary access to data.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen stated, "Data is a crucial input for online search and developing new services, including AI. Access to this data should not be restricted in ways that could harm competition. In fast-evolving markets, small changes can quickly yield significant impacts. We will not tolerate practices that may close off markets or limit choice." She further emphasized that these procedural rules are designed to ensure third-party online search engines and AI providers have access to search data and the Android system on equal terms with Google's own services.
By explicitly including "AI chatbots with search capabilities" as beneficiaries, the EU legally recognizes that conversational AI systems providing direct answers operate in the same competitive space as traditional search engines and are entitled to equivalent data access rights. This recognition implies that, once the measures are finalized, AI search products like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude could gain access to the user behavior data Google has accumulated over decades—addressing a major competitive disadvantage.
The initiation of this regulatory procedure is not abrupt but a necessary step as the DMA enters a deeper enforcement phase. The European Commission formally designated Google Search, Android, YouTube, Google Play, Chrome, Google Maps, Google Shopping, and its online advertising services as core platform services on September 6, 2023. Since March 7, 2024, Google has been required to fully comply with DMA obligations. However, its progress has not satisfied regulators.
On January 27, 2026, the Commission launched two sets of regulatory proceedings to clarify specific technical standards for Google's DMA compliance. The recent preliminary findings are part of these proceedings. This regulatory procedure is a relatively new enforcement mechanism under the DMA, designed to "define compliance" before determining violations, translating regulatory principles into quantifiable operational details.
Under Article 6(11) of the DMA, Google must provide third-party online search engines with access to anonymized ranking, query, click, and view data under FRAND terms. The preliminary findings were issued approximately three months after the proceedings began, aligning with the Commission's planned timeline. A final binding decision is expected by July 27, giving Google a three-month window for last-minute lobbying and negotiations.
If implemented, these measures could profoundly impact the global search and AI industries, potentially reshaping competitive dynamics. Competitors like Microsoft's Bing and DuckDuckGo could significantly enhance their search result quality by leveraging Google's data, closing long-standing quality gaps. The structural barrier in the search market has historically been data asymmetry. Google's decades of user behavior data—including search queries, clicked results, skipped links, and query refinements—form a feedback loop that is crucial for search quality. Competitors have long argued this data asymmetry creates an insurmountable barrier.
The potential impact of the measures lies in disrupting the data-driven "Matthew effect," where more users lead to better data, improved quality, and further user growth—creating a cycle that latecomers cannot break. Mandatory data sharing could break this cycle. For AI startups, it means they would not need to build user feedback from scratch but could refine their models using Google's vast data resources. Analysts note that click-through patterns on search engine results pages are invaluable for training the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) capabilities of AI chatbots. Access to these signals could lead to significant leaps in answer relevance and contextual understanding.
In response to the EU's actions, Google issued a swift rebuttal. Clare Kelly, Google's Senior Competition Counsel, stated the company would "vigorously oppose this excessive intervention," claiming it "exceeds the DMA's original mandate and jeopardizes user privacy and security." Kelly added, "Android was designed to be open, and we already license search data to competitors under the DMA. However, we are concerned that further rules—often driven by competitor complaints rather than consumer interests—could harm user privacy, safety, and innovation."
If Google refuses to comply with the final measures, the European Commission could issue a formal non-compliance decision and impose fines of up to 10% of Alphabet's global annual revenue. Given Alphabet's recent revenue scale, such a penalty would be substantial. The博弈 between the two sides has only just begun.