Meta opens WhatsApp in Europe to rival AI assistants for a year under EU pressure
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابMeta is opening WhatsApp in Europe to rival AI assistants for 12 months through the WhatsApp Business API for a fee, a move reported by Reuters that appears designed to head off temporary action from European regulators. The change comes as the European Commission continues a broader antitrust investigation into whether Meta abused its dominant position by keeping competing AI chatbots off WhatsApp while allowing its own Meta AI service on the platform.
The move matters beyond a single product decision. It shows that Europe is still willing to push hard against Big Tech when platform control risks tilting competition. In February, the Commission said it was weighing urgent steps to prevent what it described as serious and irreparable harm to rivals, after opening a wider competition probe in December into Meta’s WhatsApp policy.
The bigger industry signal is that messaging apps may become a key battleground for AI distribution. WhatsApp is not just a chat platform; it is a direct route into everyday user conversations. That gives access to the service strategic value for any AI assistant trying to scale. The dispute is also far from over, with the Commission still reviewing whether Meta’s concession is enough and critics arguing that paid access could replace outright exclusion with a new financial barrier.
