Meta offers rival AI chatbots free WhatsApp access to avoid EU fine

Meta has offered rival AI chatbots in the EEA (European Economic Area) one month of free access to the WhatsApp Business API.

The move is part of the company’s effort to settle an EU antitrust probe that could otherwise result in a fine.

The European Commission signaled in April that it may force access after Meta limited WhatsApp to Meta AI in January and then opened it to rivals for a fee in March.

The Commission called the offer a step in the right direction and said it would use the short window to discuss commitments with Meta that could avoid a finding of wrongdoing and a penalty of up to 10% of annual global turnover.

The case followed complaints from The Interaction Company in California, which develops the Poke.com AI assistant, and from a Spanish competitor.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Meta’s paid access raised the price of competing in WhatsApp business messaging

The dispute centers on the global market for the WhatsApp Business API, which lets companies send messages and build services in WhatsApp. That market was worth US$2.1 billion in 2024 1.
Forecasts put annual growth above 20%, with the market reaching US$11.6 billion by 2033 as more businesses use the WhatsApp Business API for customer support and marketing 1.
Meta charges for each “non-template message,” meaning messages outside pre-approved marketing or notification formats. Prices range from 0.05 euros (US$0.058) to 0.13 euros (US$0.16) by country, which can add up fast for conversational AI assistants that need many messages per exchange 2.
That fee can make it harder for rival AI chatbot makers to compete. Meta’s own AI assistant sits inside WhatsApp, so it does not face third-party WhatsApp Business API charges in the same way 3.

Control of business messaging services is at stake

Meta controls a huge WhatsApp user base, which raises a familiar competition problem when a platform gives its own service an edge 3.
Meta first restricted general-purpose third-party AI assistants on the WhatsApp Business API, then opened access for a fee. That left Meta’s own assistant ahead inside WhatsApp 2.
The approach can also give Meta more access to user interaction data, while rival AI assistant companies face steeper costs and tougher barriers to entry 2, 3.
Action by the European Union (EU) could shape how regulators keep large messaging platforms from turning into chokepoints for third-party AI assistants 4.