Meta’s decision to serve only its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, to WhatsApp users is drawing scrutiny from competition regulators in Europe. The European Commission announced on Thursday that it is launching an antitrust investigation into Meta’s move to ban other AI companies from using WhatsApp’s business tools to offer their own AI chatbots on the app.
WhatsApp changed its business API policy in October to ban general-purpose chatbots from the platform, stating that the API was not designed to be a distribution channel for chatbots. This policy change, effective in January, will impact the availability of AI chatbots from companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Poke on WhatsApp.
Notably, the change does not affect businesses using AI for customer service on WhatsApp. A retailer operating an AI-powered customer service bot, for example, can continue using the API. The prohibition applies specifically to general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
The European Commission expressed concern that the policy may prevent third-party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp in the European Economic Area. It stated that competing AI providers may be blocked from reaching customers on the platform, while Meta’s own Meta AI service would remain accessible.
Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, emphasized the need to ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit from the AI boom. She stated the investigation aims to determine if Meta’s policy is illegal under competition rules and to prevent possible harm to competition in the AI sector.
If found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules, Meta could face a fine of up to ten percent of its global annual revenue, and the Commission may impose additional measures.
WhatsApp has called the EU’s claims baseless, arguing that people have many other ways to access rival AI chatbots. A spokesperson stated that AI chatbots strain systems the API was not designed to support, and noted the AI space remains highly competitive through other channels like app stores, search engines, and email services.