Meta reopens WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots after EU scrutiny

Meta on Thursday said it will allow other companies to make their AI chatbots available through WhatsApp for a year, after the European Commission threatened interim measures if it did not.

In January, Meta had shut out rivals’ chatbots from WhatsApp, the most used messenger app in many European countries. The Commission opened an investigation into the issue in December.

“For the next 12 months, we’ll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe,” a Meta spokesperson told Euractiv on Thursday. “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.”

Meta’s spokesperson also said that it would charge companies for offering chatbots through WhatsApp.

A Commission spokesperson told Euractiv that it will now analyse Meta’s changes and their impact on its ongoing competition case.

(nl)