WhatsApp will now charge AI chatbots to operate in Italy

Meta announced on Wednesday that it will begin charging developers to operate AI-powered chatbots on WhatsApp in regions where regulators have required the company to allow such services.

The move follows Meta’s decision to block third-party AI chatbots from WhatsApp’s Business API, a policy that took effect on January 15. While that ban applies broadly, Meta is now introducing paid access in countries where regulators have pushed back against the restrictions.

For now, the pricing applies only in Italy, where the country’s competition authority asked Meta in December to suspend enforcement of the policy. Meta said the new charges for non-template AI responses will begin on February 16.

Under the updated pricing model, developers will be charged $0.0691 (€0.0572 or £0.0498) per AI-generated message. For developers whose chatbots handle high volumes of user queries, the new fees could translate into high costs if users exchange thousands of messages per day.

Earlier this month, Meta notified developers that it was creating a temporary exemption for Italian phone numbers, allowing AI chatbots to continue serving users in the country. At the time, the company did not indicate that it planned to charge developers for those interactions.

WhatsApp already monetises its Business API through fees for template-based messages, covering everyday business use cases such as marketing messages, utility notifications, and authentication flows. These include automated alerts like payment reminders, delivery updates, and account notifications.

“Where we are legally required to provide AI chatbots through the WhatsApp Business API, we are introducing pricing for the companies that choose to use our platform to provide those services,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.

The decision could set a broader precedent if regulators in other regions compel Meta to allow third-party AI chatbots to continue operating on WhatsApp.

Meta first announced in October that it would block all third-party AI chatbots from WhatsApp’s Business API. At the time, the company argued that its infrastructure was not designed to support the growing volume of AI-generated responses.

“The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API put a strain on our systems that they were not designed to support,” Meta said. “This logic assumes WhatsApp is somehow a de facto app store. The route to market for AI companies is the app stores themselves, their websites, and industry partnerships; not the WhatsApp Business Platform.”

Since the policy was introduced, regulators in multiple regions — including the European Union, Italy, and Brazil — have launched antitrust investigations into Meta’s approach. Brazil’s competition watchdog initially asked Meta to suspend the policy, but a court ruling last week sided with Meta and overturned the preliminary order blocking enforcement.

As a result of the policy change, developers are now required to send a predefined message to WhatsApp users interacting with their AI chatbots, directing them to external websites or mobile apps instead.

Several major AI providers — including OpenAI, Perplexity, and Microsoft — announced last year that their WhatsApp-based chatbots would stop working after January 15, encouraging users to continue conversations on other platforms.

As regulatory pressure mounts and AI usage continues to scale, Meta’s decision to charge for chatbot access in Italy highlights the growing tension between platform control, developer access, and the cost of operating AI-driven services at scale.