Meta has announced that it would enable competing artificial intelligence (AI) companies to provide their chatbots on WhatsApp via its business API for the next 12 months in Europe, but for a fee.
This significant move comes after the European Commission told Meta that it aimed to impose interim measures to stop the company from executing its policy, which secured third-party AI chatbot providers from using the WhatsApp Business API to offer their services on the app.
The Meta-owned WhatsApp stated, “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,” the company added.
Meta stated that it all enables general-purpose AI chatbot providers to provide their services on WhatsApp for a fee that ranges from €0.0490 to €0.1323 per “non-template message,” based on the country.
A spokesperson for the European Commission stated, “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.”
The policy change became effective on January 15, when multiple AI assistant providers complained to regulators that it was disrupting their business.
It comes after a similar move by the company in January, when it started enabling developers to click its API to offer their chatbots in Italy.
Regulators from across the globe raised antitrust concerns regarding Meta announced the policy change in October 2025, with the EU, Italy, and Brazil all launching investigations, particularly because the company provides its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, on WhatsApp.
