The European Commission sent preliminary conclusions to Google proposing measures to share search data with competing search engines, including AI chatbots qualifying as online search engines under the DMA, across the EU and EEA.
Under the proposal, Google must share four categories of anonymized data under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
The categories are ranking, request, clickAnd see data. The Commission says the aim is to enable third-party search engines “to optimize their search services and challenge the position of Google Search”.
The measures are not yet binding. A public consultation is open until May and a final decision is expected by July 27.
What does the proposal contain?
The measures proposed by the Commission cover six areas:
- Eligibility criteria for data recipients, including AI chatbots with search capabilities
- The extent of search data Google is required to share
- Data sharing methods and intervals
- Personal data anonymization standards
- Guidelines for determining FRAND prices
- Procedures allowing beneficiaries to access data
The data will be available to eligible third parties operating search engines in the EEA, including providers of AI chatbots qualified as such.
This is an Article 6(11) procedure following the opening of the Commission on 27 January. A separate procedure under Article 6(7) addresses Android interoperability for third-party AI. Both aim to transform the broad obligations of the DMA into specific and enforceable rules.
AI chatbots are eligible
Eligibility criteria for qualifying AI chatbots are the game changer when it comes to AI search visibility.
Under the proposal, AI chatbots meeting the DMA’s definition of online search engines could access Google’s anonymized search data. Qualified AI search products could use this data to improve their retrieval and ranking systems.
The proposed measures specify data sharing methods, frequency, access and pricing, with technical details still to be finalized.
Google pushes back
Google opposed the proposal in a statement provided to several outlets. Clare Kelly, senior competition advisor at Google, said in a statement to Engadget:
“Hundreds of millions of Europeans trust Google with their most sensitive searches – including private questions about their health, family and finances – and the Commission’s proposal would force us to hand over this data to third parties, with dangerously ineffective privacy protections. We will continue to vigorously defend against this overreach, which far exceeds the DMA’s original mandate and endangers people’s privacy and security.”
Google too told to register the investigation appears to be led “at least in part by OpenAI,” which it says “seeks to leverage the DMA to harvest data from Google in ways not intended by the drafters of the DMA.”
The company is fighting DMA on several fronts. Brussels sent preliminary findings in 2025 on a separate self-preference case under Article 6(5). In February, Google began testing the research results changes In the EU to respond to this procedure.
Why it matters
The measures are preliminary and, if adopted, applicable only in the EEA. Anonymization and pricing details remain open until the May consultation.
The longer-term question is whether the eligibility of AI chatbots will survive the final decision in July.
If the EU proposal passes with eligibility for AI chatbots, eligible products aimed at EU/EEA users would be able to access anonymized Google Search signals.
The proposal does not give AI chatbots access to Google’s index, but rather provides access to data similar to that used by Alphabet to optimize its search services, which differs from current AI search data sources.
Looking to the future
The public consultation closes on May 1 and the Commission will evaluate the comments before making a final, binding decision by July 27, which will apply to Google.
These procedures do not constitute a finding of non-compliance, but a separate application of the DMA can impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. The next step for AI visibility practitioners is the consultation outcome.
If the Commission upholds eligibility for AI chatbots, then the focus will shift to how quickly data-sharing agreements allow AI tools to compete for citation visibility.
Featured Image: Samuel Boivin/Shutterstock
