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National
ETV Bharat / technology
By ETV Bharat Tech Team
Published : March 7, 2026 at 11:42 AM IST
Hyderabad: Meta has announced that it will allow external Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot providers to operate on WhatsApp in Europe via its Business API for a limited 12-month period. This move was done to ease regulatory pressure from the European Commission.
The arrangement follows Meta’s introduction of a policy on January 15, 2026, that blocked third-party AI chatbot providers — including services such as ChatGPT and Claude — from accessing the WhatsApp Business API. This decision attracted complaints from several AI companies. It prompted investigations by competition authorities in the European Union (EU), Italy, and Brazil, who questioned whether the restriction was anti-competitive, given that Meta operates its own AI assistant directly within WhatsApp.
What’s the new agreement?
Under the new agreement, developers will be able to integrate their AI assistants with WhatsApp, but will be required to pay usage fees ranging from €0.0490 (around Rs 5.25) to €0.1323 (around Rs 14.18) per message. This cost will be applicable only when the AI-powered conversations involve numerous back-and-forth exchanges. As conversations with AI chatbots usually involve a dozen messages, the costs could mount significantly for third-party providers.
What does the European Commission say?
The Commission confirmed it is reviewing the implications of Meta’s revised approach, including how it may affect ongoing investigations into possible interim measures and a broader antitrust inquiry into the company’s conduct.
Businesses using AI tools for structured customer service — such as retailers deploying templated responses — were unaffected by the original restriction. Meta had previously argued that general-purpose chatbots place heavy technical demands on WhatsApp’s infrastructure, which was built primarily for structured business messaging rather than open-ended conversational use.
Meat had already begun easing restrictions earlier this year. It allowed developers in Italy to integrate AI chatbots through the platform’s API. The company plans to expand this approach across Europe for the duration of the regulatory review.
Meta said in a statement that the move was intended to give the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation. “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,” the company said.
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