Meta opens WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots in Europe but why competitors are not convinced

Meta has agreed to allow rival artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots access to WhatsApp for the next 12 months in Europe. However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from competitors claiming that the Facebook-parent company has simply replaced one barrier with another. The announcement follows mounting regulatory pressure from the European Commission, the EU's top competition enforcer, which threatened emergency interim measures against Meta last month. Rivals AI chatbot players complained they had been locked out of WhatsApp.At the time, the Commission warned that Meta's actions risked causing “serious and irreparable harm” to competing AI companies, news agency Reuters reported. Meta has told the Commission it will allow rival AI chatbots to access WhatsApp through the WhatsApp Business API but for a fee. This arrangement will run for 12 months across Europe while regulators continue their broader antitrust investigation.“For the next 12 months, we'll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process,” a Meta spokesperson said, adding that the company believes the move “removes the need for any immediate intervention.”The European Commission, meanwhile, has said that it is currently analysing how Meta’s changes might affect both its interim measures review and its wider investigation.Not all its rivals are celebrating. Marvin von Hagen, CEO of The Interaction Company of California – developer of the Poke.com AI assistant – said that the fee makes it impossible to operate. It is one of the companies that filed complaints with EU and Italian regulators.“What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp as the outright ban did,” he said.Von Hagen called on Brussels to press ahead with an interim order against Meta regardless of the new offer. “The so-called Italian 'solution' is thus no solution at all. It simply replaces one anti-competitive restriction with another,” he added.Meta has previously argued that allowing large numbers of third-party chatbots onto its platforms puts significant strain on its systems. The company has also pointed out that alternative routes exist for AI providers to reach users — including app stores, search engines, email services, operating system integrations, and direct partnerships.