EU's 2 DMA Orders Could Break Google's Ad Data Moat by 2027

For marketers, Google's vast search data has long powered the most dominant digital ad machine. The EU's new orders threaten to dismantle that advantage by mandating data sharing with competitors, potentially leveling the playing field for rival ad networks and AI-driven ad products. Meanwhile, opening Android to alternative AI assistants could fragment voice commerce, forcing brands to rethink their voice-based strategies.

The European Union has issued two landmark orders under the Digital Markets Act that strike at the core of Google's competitive advantages in search and mobile AI. On July 16, 2026, the European Commission mandated that Google must share anonymized search data with qualifying rivals beginning in January 2027, and with the next major Android release around July 2027, must allow users to activate rival AI assistants by voice and perform in-app tasks—directly challenging the default status of 'Hey Google' and Gemini.

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For years, Google has used its Android dominance to funnel users toward its own AI assistant and services.

These measures aim to dismantle what competitors call Google's 'data moat.' The search giant's ability to collect billions of click-and-query interactions daily has created a self-reinforcing cycle: more users generate more data, which improves search results and AI training, which attracts yet more users. By forcing Google to provide anonymized slices of this data to other search engines and AI companies, the EU hopes to catalyze genuine alternatives in both search and AI services. The data-sharing mandate will cover click and query data, though the precise scope—including how data is anonymized, which entities qualify, and whether real-time access is included—will likely be subject to further technical negotiation and potential legal challenges.

The Android order is equally transformative. For years, Google has used its Android dominance to funnel users toward its own AI assistant and services. The new rules require that from the next Android version, users can set a third-party AI as the default voice assistant, and those assistants must be able to operate within apps—booking a restaurant, sending a message, or controlling smart devices—just as Google's own assistant does. This unbundling could fragment the mobile AI landscape, ending the era of one-assistant-per-phone dominance.

The orders land amid escalating transatlantic regulatory friction. The EU's DMA gives it teeth: non-compliance can lead to fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover, and in repeat cases, structural remedies like forced divestitures. While Google had already made some concessions under earlier DMA provisions, these new orders represent a far deeper intrusion into its data and platform strategies. Google may challenge the orders in the EU courts, arguing that forced data sharing compromises user privacy or its own trade secrets, though the Commission insists the data will be anonymized.