Meta Temporary Opens WhatsApp to AI Chatbots in EU

Meta has announced a temporary policy change allowing third‑party AI chatbot providers to offer their services on WhatsApp via the WhatsApp Business API in Europe for the next 12 months. The decision comes as the European Commission considers interim measures in an ongoing antitrust investigation. Meta stated that the change is intended to avoid immediate regulatory intervention while the Commission completes its review.

Under the revised policy, general‑purpose AI chatbots may access WhatsApp’s Business API for a fee ranging from approximately €0.05 to €0.13 per non‑template message, depending on the EU country. Given that AI conversations typically involve many messages, these costs may significantly affect the commercial viability of such services, particularly for smaller providers.

The European Commission confirmed that it is assessing whether Meta’s policy shift sufficiently addresses the concerns raised in both its interim measures procedure and the broader competition investigation. Regulators have focused on the risk of foreclosure, as Meta simultaneously restricts rivals while promoting its own Meta AI chatbot within WhatsApp.

Importantly, the policy continues to exclude general‑purpose AI assistants such as ChatGPT or Claude from permanent access, while allowing businesses to deploy AI‑driven customer service tools using templated messages. The issue has attracted global regulatory attention, with parallel investigations in Italy and Brazil, underscoring growing scrutiny of platform power and self‑preferencing under EU digital competition law.