Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, also develops Meta AI, a general-purpose AI assistant.
In a preliminary assessment, the commission said Meta is likely dominant in the consumer messaging app market, with WhatsApp serving as a crucial gateway for AI assistants to reach users.By restricting access, Meta’s actions could raise barriers for competitors by preventing new AI tools from entering the market.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said, “Artificial Intelligence is bringing incredible innovations to consumers, and one of these is the emerging market of AI assistants.”
“We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field, which means we cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” she added.
On October 15, 2025, the company updated its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, effectively banning all rival AI assistants. Since January 15, 2026, Meta AI has been the only AI tool available on WhatsApp, according to the European Commission.
The EU says Meta may be unfairly blocking AI rivals on WhatsApp, while Meta argues that people have plenty of other ways to use AI, so the EU shouldn’t interfere.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API. There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships,” a Meta spokesperson said in an email.
“The commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots,” it said.
