The European Union Has Ordered Meta to Reopen WhatsApp to Rival Chatbots

The European Commission has ordered Meta to once again allow access to WhatsApp for artificial intelligence chatbots developed by competing companies, as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation. This decision comes after the tech giant had prevented several third-party AI assistants from operating through the messaging platform.

Among the services involved are popular chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft's Copilot, which previously could use WhatsApp's infrastructure to reach users. Meta had justified its choice by claiming it wanted to reserve the use of the WhatsApp Business API for other categories of businesses, thereby effectively excluding competing AI assistants.

Following this decision, Brussels initiated an investigation to determine whether the company had exploited its dominant position in the market to hinder competition. Now, the Commission has adopted a provisional measure that requires Meta to restore the access conditions that existed prior to October 15, 2025, and maintain them until the conclusion of the inquiry.

Competition Among Chatbots Within WhatsApp

According to the European authority, the limitation imposed by Meta would make it extremely difficult for rival chatbots to distribute their services through one of the most widely used messaging systems in the world. Although the company subsequently introduced a paid access option, the Commission believes that the required costs are so high that they effectively represent an almost insurmountable barrier for many competitors.

The Vice President of the European Commission responsible for competition, Teresa Ribera, expressed concern about the possible use of WhatsApp's powerful position to benefit the AI assistant developed by Meta itself. According to Ribera, there is a risk that a large digital platform could exploit its dominance to influence who can compete and innovate in the AI sector.

The decision does not conclude the investigation, but it marks an important step in the confrontation between European regulators and large tech companies.