Google's Data Sharing: A Game Changer for Search Engines
The European Commission on Thursday sent preliminary findings to Alphabet outlining proposed measures that would require Google to share search ranking, query, click, and view data with competing search engines — explicitly including AI chatbots with search functionalities — under the Digital Markets Act.
Interested parties have until May 1 to submit their views on the proposed measures, with a final binding decision expected by July 27, according to Reuters.
AI Chatbots Recognized as Search Competitors
The inclusion of AI chatbot providers as eligible "data beneficiaries" marks a notable regulatory step. When the Commission opened these specification proceedings on January 27, the question of whether AI chatbot providers would qualify for access to Google's search data was still under review. Thursday's preliminary findings appear to resolve that question in the affirmative, treating conversational AI systems as direct competitors to traditional search engines.
The proposed measures require Google to make the data available on "fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory" terms, with the aim of allowing third-party search engines "to optimise their search services and contest Google Search's position," the Commission said.
Google has maintained it is already cooperating. "We're already licensing Search data to competitors under the DMA," Clare Kelly, Google's senior competition counsel, said when the proceedings were first announced in January. Kelly added at the time that the company was "concerned that further regulations, which are often motivated by competitor complaints rather than consumer interests, will jeopardize user privacy, security, and innovation".
Broader Enforcement Pressure
The preliminary findings arrive amid intensifying EU enforcement against major tech platforms. Google was charged in March 2025 with breaching the DMA in two separate areas — for allegedly favoring its own services such as Google Flights and Google Hotels in search results, and for restricting app developers from steering consumers to alternative channels through Google Play. The company has since proposed changes to its European search results to give rivals more prominence, though competitors have complained those efforts remain insufficient.
Under the DMA, non-compliance can result in fines of up to 10 percent of a company's global annual turnover, rising to 20 percent for repeated violations. EU regulators have already levied more than 6 billion euros in fines against U.S. tech companies since 2024, according to CNBC. EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in January that regulators want to ensure "the playing field is open and fair, rather than skewed in favor of a select few".
