Rival AI chatbot providers can now access WhatsApp's European users through its Business API, but they'll pay between €0.0490 and €0.1323 for every non-template message sent through the platform. The fee structure arrives as a temporary concession from Meta following regulatory pressure from Brussels over antitrust concerns.
Meta announced Thursday it would support general-purpose AI chatbots using WhatsApp's Business API in Europe for the next 12 months, responding directly to an ongoing European Commission investigation into competitive practices on the messaging service.
The company barred third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp on January 15, allowing only its own Meta AI tool on the platform until this week's reversal.
European regulators threatened interim measures last month to prevent what they called "serious and irreparable harm" to competitors shut out of WhatsApp's user base. The Commission considers WhatsApp an important entry point for AI assistants to reach consumers across the continent, where messaging apps serve as primary communication channels for millions of users.
The per-message pricing could prove costly for providers like ChatGPT, Claude, or Poke.com given that conversations with AI assistants typically involve dozens of exchanges. Marvin von Hagen, CEO of The Interaction Company which develops Poke.com, criticized what he called "vexatious pricing" that makes operating on WhatsApp "just as impossible as the outright ban did." His company filed complaints with both EU and Italian regulators over Meta's original restrictions.
Meta previously argued that AI chatbots strain systems not designed for their usage patterns and pointed to alternative distribution channels including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems.
A company spokesperson said Thursday's move "removes the need for any immediate intervention" by regulators while giving them time to conclude their investigation. The policy change follows a similar accommodation in Italy where Meta began allowing rival chatbots onto WhatsApp in January after an order from that country's antitrust authority. Similar adjustments will apply in Brazil after a court reinstated an injunction from local competition authorities this week.
This isn't Meta's first clash with European regulators over competitive practices or data handling. In 2023, the company faced a €1.2 billion fine for mishandling personal data under GDPR rules, followed by another €200 million penalty last year for breaching obligations to provide services using less consumer data.
