Meta Will Allow Rival AI Chatbots On WhatsApp In Europe, But For A Fee
Meta now allows rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe via its Business API — but third-party providers will pay a per-message fee to compete.
Matilda
Meta Will Allow Rival AI Chatbots On WhatsApp In Europe, But For A Fee
WhatsApp AI Chatbots in Europe: Meta Opens the Door for a Fee Meta has agreed to allow competing AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe — but there's a catch. Starting March 2026, third-party AI providers can integrate their chatbots into WhatsApp's Business API for a per-message fee. The move comes after mounting regulatory pressure from European authorities demanding fairer access to one of the world's most popular messaging platforms. Why Meta Changed Course on WhatsApp AI Access
Just a month ago, European regulators were preparing to take drastic action. Authorities had formally notified Meta that they planned to impose interim measures — emergency regulatory steps used when a company's conduct is seen as urgently harming competition. The concern was straightforward: Meta had been blocking third-party AI chatbot providers from using the WhatsApp Business API, effectively locking out any AI assistant that wasn't built by Meta itself. That policy raised serious antitrust…