Google’s AI-powered search feature, Overview AI, has not yet been rolled out in most EU countries due to regulatory uncertainty, a senior executive at the US tech giant has confirmed.
The delay highlights a growing concern over the European Union’s approach to artificial intelligence and the impact of its regulatory framework on innovation.
Overview AI, designed to help users ask complex questions and navigate web information more efficiently, was launched in eight EU member states—Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain—as well as Switzerland in late March. However, it was held back in the remaining EU nations, including France, which has stringent national copyright and neighboring rights laws that add further complexity to EU-wide rules.
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Google officials have not ruled out launching the feature in other EU countries but acknowledge that the region’s increasingly dense web of AI-related regulations, including the AI Act, Digital Services Act (DSA), and Digital Markets Act (DMA), is slowing progress.
“The EU is behind when it comes to product innovation, and users in Europe will have a less good product experience,” the Google executive said, expressing frustration over what the company sees as excessive regulatory hurdles. The delays also mean that AI Overview entered the EU market nine months after its initial launch in the US and other jurisdictions.
The development highlights a fundamental challenge in Europe’s AI rollout—overregulation. Although the European Union has announced ambitious plans to position itself as a major player in the global AI race, mapping billions of euros for AI development and research, analysts warn that unless the bloc addresses its heavy-handed regulatory environment, it will continue to lag behind the US and China in technological innovation.
While the EU champions consumer protection and ethical AI deployment, critics pointed out that its rigid rules make it difficult for companies to experiment, iterate, and scale AI solutions at the pace required to compete with Silicon Valley and Beijing. US firms, including Google and Meta, have repeatedly expressed concerns that Europe’s complex and evolving legal landscape stifles AI advancements, deterring investment and delaying cutting-edge technologies from reaching European users.
Meta, which launched its AI assistant in Europe only after extended negotiations with regulators, recently echoed these concerns. The company, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and global policy chief Joel Kaplan, has long been vocal about what it views as disproportionate scrutiny of US tech firms by European authorities.
“It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system—but we’re glad we’re finally here,” Meta said earlier this month.
Since the new US administration of President Donald Trump took office in January, transatlantic tensions over tech regulation have further escalated, with Washington increasingly critical of Brussels’ strict stance on major American technology firms.
With the AI revolution unfolding at breakneck speed, the EU faces a critical decision to either maintain its strict regulatory grip and risk losing further ground in the AI arms race or streamline its approach to foster a more competitive environment for AI development. Without addressing its overregulation problem, experts say, Europe may continue to play catch-up in the global tech industry.