EU orders Google to share search data with rivals and AI

On April 16, 2026, the European Commission sent Google preliminary findings under the Digital Markets Act requiring the company to give competing search engines and AI services access to search data it collects, including rankings, user queries, clicks and page views. Access would need to be offered on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

The findings are part of a formal DMA process that began January 27, 2026. The Commission said the goal is to reduce Google’s exclusive advantage from decades of user behavior data and to allow other companies to develop and improve alternative search and AI offerings.

The document published April 16 sets out six areas for access: which providers qualify, whether AI chatbots that perform search functions are eligible, the specific types of data to be shared, the technical methods and frequency of transfers, safeguards for personal data, and pricing and access-management rules. The Commission included AI chatbots in the scope and treated them as potential competitors to traditional search engines.

Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, commented: “Data is a key input for online search and for developing new services, including AI. Access to this data should not be restricted in ways that could harm competition.” Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, noted the work is happening at a moment of growing interconnection with AI services.

Google responded strongly, arguing the proposal overreaches and creates privacy risks. Clare Kelly, Google’s senior competition counsel, warned the measures would force the company to hand sensitive search data to third parties and would produce “dangerously ineffective privacy protections.” Google also accused some rivals of seeking regulator access to its data.

The Commission’s findings mark about the midpoint of the formal DMA process. A public consultation opens April 17 and runs through May 1. Brussels aims to issue final, binding requirements by July 27, 2026. If Google does not comply with any final obligations, the company could face fines up to 10 percent of Alphabet’s worldwide annual revenue for a year, a sum the Commission says could exceed $35 billion in some scenarios.

Regulators first charged Google under the DMA in March 2025 for practices alleged to lock competitors out of critical inputs. The current case is closely watched by governments and companies worldwide as regulators set out whether and how a dominant platform can be required to open access to its data while protecting user privacy.