Meta to Give Rival AI Chatbots WhatsApp Access at a Monthly Fee
In Focus
- The European Union objected Meta’s Whatsapp AI chatbot policy
- The policy denied third-party AI chatbots access to WhatsApp Business
- Meta’s updated Whatsapp AI chatbot policy will apply in 30 countries
Meta may soon allow third-party AI chatbots to access its WhatsApp platform in select regions. According to Gadgets360, the social media giant is updating its WhatsApp AI chatbots policy to facilitate this change following objections in the European Union (EU).
Meta Reviewed AI Chatbot Policy in 2025
Meta’s WhatsApp third-party AI chatbot restrictions commenced in October 2025 after the company updated its application programming interface policy. The policy changes took effect on January 15, 2026, leading to deactivation of AI bots such as Copilot and ChatGPT.
Meta did not justify its decision to keep competing AI chatbots off the WhatsApp platform. However, reports indicated that the decision may have been driven by the need to curb competition with Meta AI.
“AI Providers are only permitted to offer general-purpose AI assistants on the WhatsApp Business Platform where Meta is legally required to permit this use case,” Meta noted.
Meta plans to update its WhatsApp AI chatbot policy at a time when the social media platform is testing premium AI subscriptions on Facebook and Instagram.
The EU Termed Meta’s Restrictions Anti-Competitive
But the European Commission termed the move as anti-competitive and urged that its WhatsApp AI policy unfairly restricts competition in Europe. The Commission threatened Meta with interim measures to reverse restrictions temporarily as an antitrust investigation continues.
In December 2025, Italy’s competition watchdog had raised similar concerns. Italian Competition and Market Authority (AGCM) instructed Meta platforms to halt implementation of the policy on WhatsApp Business AI chatbots API. The move pushed Meta into opening WhatsApp Business to other AI chatbots in the country at a fee.
Meta to Charge Rival AI Chatbots for Access
Although Meta has agreed to give rival AI platforms access to its Whatsapp platform, it will charge a fee for every non-template message sent. Under the updated WhatsApp AI chatbot policy, Meta will take these steps in countries it is legally required to open access to third-party AI providers.
“For the next 12 months, we’ll support general-purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission’s regulatory process. We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation,” Meta’s Spokesperson said.
Meta is reportedly planning to charge between €0.0490 and €0.1323 euros for every non-template message. However, the price will vary from one country to another. Since user conversations with chatbots span dozens of messages, AI companies will likely find the cost to be high
Currently, the new policy will apply in 30 countries, with 26 of these being members of the European Union. Brazil is among the remaining four countries, while the rest are members of the European Economic Area (EEA).
