EU warns Meta over blocking rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp

In October last year, WhatsApp updated its business API policy to ban general-purpose AI chatbots from operating on its platform.

WhatsApp’s efforts to shut out competing AI chatbots have sparked controversy, putting the Meta-owned platform under renewed regulatory scrutiny.

The European Union has fired a fresh warning to Meta over its policies that reportedly block the use of rival AI assistants on WhatsApp. In a statement of objectors to Meta, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, warned that it will take measures to avoid “serious and irreparable harm on the market” over its failure to allow access to rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp, as per Bloomberg.

Meta’s conduct “risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants,” the European Commission further said. The interim measures may reportedly include a temporary order for the company to allow access to rival AI assistants on the messaging service. However, Meta has the right to reply and defend itself before these interim measures are implemented.

The latest threat of regulatory action against Meta assumes significance amid escalating tensions between the EU and the Trump administration over the regulation of US-based tech companies.

WhatsApp’s latest policy changes effectively block AI assistants rolled out by rivals such as OpenAI and Perplexity, making Meta AI the only AI chatbot accessible through the platform which has over 500 million users in India. The move underscores the growing turf war in the AI race and signals a shift toward more closed, tightly controlled ecosystems.

In October last year, WhatsApp updated its business API policy to ban general-purpose AI chatbots from operating on its platform. It added a new section in its business API terms that specifically prohibits AI model providers from distributing their AI assistants via WhatsApp. However, this change will not affect businesses such as a travel agency that uses WhatsApp to deploy AI chatbots for customer service, the company clarified.

“Providers and developers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies, including but not limited to large language models, generative artificial intelligence platforms, general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants, or similar technologies as determined by Meta in its sole discretion (“AI Providers”), are strictly prohibited from accessing or using the WhatsApp Business Solution, whether directly or indirectly, for the purposes of providing, delivering, offering, selling, or otherwise making available such technologies when such technologies are the primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality being made available for use, as determined by Meta in its sole discretion,” the updated WhatsApp business API policy reads.

The revised terms went into effect from January 15, 2026, onwards.

Meanwhile, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has pointed out that big tech companies have an unfair market advantage in AI due to their control over datasets and other computational resources, among other factors.

“In the AI industry, major firms may leverage their control over data, infrastructure, and proprietary models to entrench their market position which may end up raising barriers to entry,” read the CCI study released last year.

WhatsApp’s efforts to shut out competing AI chatbots have sparked controversy, putting the Meta-owned platform under renewed regulatory scrutiny.

The European Union has fired a fresh warning to Meta over its policies that reportedly block the use of rival AI assistants on WhatsApp. In a statement of objectors to Meta, the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, warned that it will take measures to avoid “serious and irreparable harm on the market” over its failure to allow access to rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp, as per Bloomberg.

Meta’s conduct “risks blocking competitors from entering or expanding in the rapidly growing market for AI assistants,” the European Commission further said. The interim measures may reportedly include a temporary order for the company to allow access to rival AI assistants on the messaging service. However, Meta has the right to reply and defend itself before these interim measures are implemented.

The latest threat of regulatory action against Meta assumes significance amid escalating tensions between the EU and the Trump administration over the regulation of US-based tech companies.

WhatsApp’s latest policy changes effectively block AI assistants rolled out by rivals such as OpenAI and Perplexity, making Meta AI the only AI chatbot accessible through the platform which has over 500 million users in India. The move underscores the growing turf war in the AI race and signals a shift toward more closed, tightly controlled ecosystems.

In October last year, WhatsApp updated its business API policy to ban general-purpose AI chatbots from operating on its platform. It added a new section in its business API terms that specifically prohibits AI model providers from distributing their AI assistants via WhatsApp. However, this change will not affect businesses such as a travel agency that uses WhatsApp to deploy AI chatbots for customer service, the company clarified.

“Providers and developers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies, including but not limited to large language models, generative artificial intelligence platforms, general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants, or similar technologies as determined by Meta in its sole discretion (“AI Providers”), are strictly prohibited from accessing or using the WhatsApp Business Solution, whether directly or indirectly, for the purposes of providing, delivering, offering, selling, or otherwise making available such technologies when such technologies are the primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality being made available for use, as determined by Meta in its sole discretion,” the updated WhatsApp business API policy reads.

The revised terms went into effect from January 15, 2026, onwards.

Meanwhile, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has pointed out that big tech companies have an unfair market advantage in AI due to their control over datasets and other computational resources, among other factors.

“In the AI industry, major firms may leverage their control over data, infrastructure, and proprietary models to entrench their market position which may end up raising barriers to entry,” read the CCI study released last year.