Google and Apple vs. the EU: power struggle over the AI assistant

Soon, the AI assistant on your phone may no longer be the one its maker picked, but the one you choose yourself. That question has turned into an open power struggle. In mid-July, the European Commission issued a binding ruling that requires Google to open Android to third-party AI assistants and to share search data with competitors. Now Google and Apple are fighting back, and both are making the same argument: your security.

Google calls the requirements a security risk

Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker writes on the company blog that the decisions undermine vital privacy and security guardrails for millions of Europeans. Third-party apps would gain sensitive and powerful device permissions, and shared search data would end up with companies users have never heard of, without adequate anonymization. Android chief Sameer Samat followed up on X on Friday: the Commission is on the wrong track. Anyone who wants a different assistant can already change the default in Android's settings.

Apple is leaving Siri AI out of Europe for now

Apple has gone a step further. The new Siri AI will not come to the EU with iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, and it is missing from the Apple Watch as well. Only Mac and Vision Pro users in the EU will get it. Software chief Craig Federighi says Apple is deeply disappointed. As Apple reads the rules, it would have to give any assistant direct access to private data and control over other apps. The Commission rejected Apple's proposed middle ground, a secured interface called Trusted System Agent. There is no timeline for Siri AI on iPhones and iPads in the EU.

The EU points to built-in safeguards

The Commission counters that the search data will be anonymized through a multi-layered process developed with data protection experts. Google is also allowed to check whether a recipient poses a security risk before any data changes hands. A spokesperson told CNN that the companies could build appropriate safeguards themselves. Calli Schroeder, a lawyer at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, advises taking the companies' privacy arguments with a grain of salt, noting that they only spoke out once a decision directly affected them. In the short term, nothing changes for you: Android users can already switch their assistant in the settings, while iPhone users in the EU are left waiting for Siri AI. Our guide explains what your AI collects about you anyway and how to limit it. And one figure from analyst firm Omdia shows what the fight is really about: ChatGPT is already installed on around 30 percent of EU smartphones.