Meta announced it will permit general-purpose AI chatbot providers to offer their services on WhatsApp in Europe via its business API for the next 12 months. The company said this policy change is a response to the European Commission’s regulatory process and aims to prevent immediate intervention.
This move is a direct reversal of a policy Meta implemented in January that barred third-party AI chatbots from the WhatsApp Business API. The original policy prompted complaints from AI assistant providers and antitrust investigations from regulators in the EU, Italy, and Brazil, who cited Meta’s own AI chatbot, Meta AI, as a potential conflict.
Meta will charge fees for these services, ranging from €0.0490 to €0.1323 per “non-template message,” depending on the country. The company stated this change removes the need for interim measures, giving the European Commission time to conclude its investigation. A European Commission spokesperson said the body is analyzing the impact of Meta’s changes on its interim and broader antitrust investigations.
The January policy change disrupted several AI assistant providers, who argued it was anti-competitive. Meta previously told TechCrunch that the AI space is highly competitive and that users have access to services through app stores, search engines, and other integrations. WhatsApp had justified the original ban by stating that AI chatbots strain its systems in ways the Business API was not designed to support.
In January, Meta also began allowing developers to use its API for chatbots in Italy. Regulators launched antitrust concerns after Meta announced the initial policy change in October, focusing on the company’s offer of its own AI chatbot on the platform. The new fee-based access applies to providers like ChatGPT and Claude, while businesses using AI for customer service with templatized messages are not affected.
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