EU Commission orders Meta to allow rival AI on WhatsApp

The European Union's Commission has taken a significant step to ensure fair competition in the digital market, announcing a provisional measure against Meta. The EU is prohibiting Meta's practice of preventing rival general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants from offering services through WhatsApp. This move stems from an ongoing competition investigation into Meta's practices.

The Commission highlighted that Meta's restrictions on rival AI services via WhatsApp pose a substantial risk of damaging competition within the fast-expanding market for AI assistants. According to the EU's initial assessment, Meta holds a dominant position in the consumer communication apps market in Europe. The Commission believes Meta is leveraging this position to block competitors' AI assistants from accessing WhatsApp.

Meta had implemented a policy on October 15, 2025, that banned third-party AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp, leaving only Meta's own AI service, Meta AI, accessible. While Meta later allowed third-party AI services to regain access, the EU Commission found that the requested fees effectively created a barrier equivalent to the previous ban. Under the new decision, Meta must reinstate free access to the WhatsApp Business API for rival AI assistants within five business days, adhering to the conditions that were in place before October 15, 2025.