Meta to open WhatsApp in Europe to compete with AI chatbots for a fee

In an effort to avoid a major investigation by the European Commission, Meta said on Thursday that it will allow AI companies to offer their chatbots on WhatsApp through its business API across Europe for the next 12 months.

The move comes one month after the European Commission informed Meta that it planned to impose interim measures to prevent the company from enforcing its policy blocking third-party AI chatbot providers from using the WhatsApp Business API to deliver their services through the app.

“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,” Meta said in an emailed statement. “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 said it will allow providers of general-purpose AI chatbots to make their services available on WhatsApp for fees ranging from €0.0490 to €0.1323 per “non-template message,” depending on the country. Since interactions with AI assistants often involve dozens of messages in a single conversation, the resulting costs could become significant for third-party providers.

“The Commission is analysing the impact these changes may have on its interim measures investigation, as well as on its broader antitrust investigation on the substance,” a spokesperson for the European Commission said in an emailed statement.

The policy change took effect on January 15, prompting several AI assistant providers to file complaints with regulators, arguing that the decision disrupted their businesses and constituted anti-competitive conduct.

Importantly, the policy does not apply to companies using AI to assist customers on WhatsApp. For example, a retailer operating an AI-powered customer support bot that sends templated messages would still be allowed to use the API. The restriction applies only to AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Poke, offered directly through the API.

The decision follows a similar step Meta took in January, when it began allowing developers in Italy to use its API to provide chatbot services.

Regulators in multiple regions raised antitrust concerns after Meta first announced the policy shift in October of last year, with authorities in the European Union, Italy, and Brazil all opening investigations, particularly because Meta also offers its own chatbot, Meta AI, on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp has previously defended its position by saying that AI chatbots place demands on its systems that the Business API was not originally designed to handle. “The AI space is highly competitive, and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems,” the company had said earlier.