EC wants Meta to welcome external AI chatbots back to WhatsApp
The European Commission has formally asked Meta to allow third-party AI chatbots access to WhatsApp. The Commission is concerned that the recent blockage may violate European competition rules.
In October 2025, Meta announced that it would change its policy and terms for WhatsApp, prohibiting third parties from communicating with customers via WhatsApp.
As a result of the new policy, competing AI chatbot providers were blocked from reaching their customers through WhatsApp, making Meta AI the only AI chatbot accessible to users on the platform.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, voiced her concerns and said this may be a violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 54 of the European Economic Area Agreement.
“We must ensure European citizens and businesses can benefit fully from this technological revolution and act to prevent dominant digital incumbents from abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors,” she said in December 2025, announcing a formal investigation into Meta’s new policy.
On Monday, the European Commission presented its preliminary findings. The Commission has concluded that Meta is a dominant consumer communications application in the European Economic Area (EEA) and that the tech company is most likely abusing its dominant position by refusing access to competing third-party AI assistants.
The Commission has informed Meta that this policy change appears to be an infringement of EU competition rules. To prevent Meta’s policy change from causing serious and irreparable harm to the market, the executive branch of the EU is imposing interim measures, which would require Meta to allow external AI chatbots to regain access to WhatsApp.
“Artificial intelligence is bringing incredible innovations to consumers, and one of these is the emerging market of AI assistants. We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” Ribera said in a statement.
In a response to Reuters, Meta criticized the European Commission’s preliminary findings.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API. There are many AI options, and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships. The Commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots,” a Meta spokesperson said in an email.
Meta has the opportunity to formally respond to the European Commission’s concerns. The preliminary findings don’t prejudge the outcome of the investigation.