EU Orders WhatsApp to Restore Access for Competing AI Assistants

The European Commission has taken decisive action against Meta, ordering the company to restore free access to WhatsApp for competing artificial intelligence (AI) assistants. This move aims to prevent irreparable harm to the market for AI assistants before a final decision can be reached in ongoing competition proceedings.

As of 15 October 2025, Meta introduced a new policy that excluded third-party providers of general AI assistants from using the so-called WhatsApp Business API. Only Meta's own AI assistant, Meta AI, remained accessible via WhatsApp. However, after revising its policy, Meta allowed third-party providers back in on 4 March 2026 – but with fees that the Commission deemed a de facto access ban.

The Commission had initiated proceedings against Meta in December 2025 and issued a first statement of objections in February 2026. A supplementary communication was released in April 2026, emphasizing the need for Meta to restore access. The formal decision has now been made public, requiring Meta to reinstate free access for third-party providers under conditions that applied before 15 October 2025.

Meta's AI assistant, Meta AI, is deeply integrated into WhatsApp and easily recognizable by users – a purple-blue ring in the bottom right corner of the app's home screen marks direct access. This close integration has given Meta AI a structural advantage over competing products, which the Commission has classified as anti-competitive. The company uses its proprietary AI model Muse Spark to power this assistant.

Not all third-party providers waited for regulatory intervention. OpenAI severed its WhatsApp connection for ChatGPT in January 2026 after Meta introduced new terms of use. Other providers that had used WhatsApp as an open interface for general AI models were also excluded from the platform.

The Commission's decision is based on three key findings: first, Meta has held a dominant position in the European Economic Area (EEA) market for consumer communications applications via WhatsApp since at least January 2023. Second, Meta abused this position by denying access to previously open infrastructure. Third, urgent action is required as the AI assistant market is in a critical phase of development.

The Commission emphasizes that smaller providers and new entrants still have an opportunity to challenge established players in this growing market for AI assistants. To ensure compliance with these interim measures, Meta must restore free access within five working days. Failure to comply may result in fines of up to ten percent of global annual turnover as well as daily penalty payments of up to five percent of average daily turnover.

The decision is a significant step towards safeguarding competition in the market for AI tools used by businesses. As Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, noted: 'Today we are requiring Meta to restore access to WhatsApp for competing AI assistants while we investigate whether the restrictions violate EU competition rules.' The substantive proceedings against Meta remain ongoing.

The Commission's interim measures aim to preserve an important access point for consumers in Europe. This move is only the second of its kind since Regulation 1/2003 entered into force, with a comparable case involving semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom in 2009.