EU Orders Meta to Open WhatsApp to Rival AI Chatbots—Meta Calls It ‘Regulatory Overreach’

The European Commission on Monday ordered Meta to give rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp’s business messaging tools, escalating an antitrust battle that began when Meta blocked competitors from its platform last October. Reuters reports this.

Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera said the provisional measures would remain in place for the duration of the investigation, which started in December 2025. “In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is made,” she said in one statement.

The order requires Meta to restore access for general third-party AI assistants to the WhatsApp Business API under the same terms that existed before the ban.

Meta called the decision “overstepping the regulations” and said it would be appealed. “The European Commission has decided that OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid WhatsApp Business product for free,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. “This is exceeding the regulations, subsidized by the many European companies that pay. We will appeal.”

The Commission began its investigation after Meta changed its policy to only allow Meta AI on WhatsApp and block competing chatbots from the Business API. The policy change took effect on January 15, although existing AI providers had already been shut down since October 2025. The investigation focuses on whether Meta abused its dominant position in European messaging markets by reserving WhatsApp’s AI access for itself.

Ribera emphasized the decision “preserves the choice for citizens across Europe about which AI assistants they want to use with WhatsApp, without that decision being made for them.” Non-compliance could result in fines of up to 10% of Meta’s total global revenue.

The feud highlights a broader tension: AI companies want distribution on messaging platforms with billions of users, while platform owners want to monetize that access. A separate study from the IMDEA Networks Institute in May found that ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and Perplexity all share user data with third-party trackers including Meta, Google and TikTok, even when users opt out. Grok was the worst offender: guest conversations are public by default, and TikTok’s tracker received metadata from webcam images.

Meta has five business days to comply with the Commission’s order while she plans her appeal.