ChatGPT On WhatsApp? Meta Could Be Forced To Allow Third-Party AI Assistants, Here Is Why

The European Commission (EU) has warned US-base social media giant Meta over its decision to block third-party AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp, saying the move could break EU competition rules and harm rivals like ChatGPT. The regulator has now issued a formal Statement of Objections and is considering interim measures to stop the policy from causing serious damage to competition.In simple terms, the Commission believes Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is using its dominance in messaging to give its own AI -- Meta AI -- an unfair advantage. WhatsApp is one of the biggest consumer communication apps in Europe and regulators say it is an important entry point for AI assistants to reach users. If competitors cannot operate on the platform, it could make

it harder for them to grow or even enter the market."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," said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, European Union.Sarvam AI Explained: This Homegrown AI Outclasses ChatGPT And Google Gemini In Multiple Benchmarking Tests "AI markets are developing at rapid pace, so we also need to be swift in our action. That is why we are considering quickly imposing interim measures on Meta, to preserve access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation is ongoing, and avoid Meta’s new policy irreparably harming competition in Europe," she added.The issue started after Meta updated its WhatsApp Business terms in October 2025. With that change, third-party general-purpose AI assistants were effectively banned. From January 15, 2026, Meta AI became the only assistant allowed on WhatsApp. According to the Commission, this may amount to an abuse of dominance under EU antitrust law.Regulators are concerned about the speed at which the AI assistant market is growing. If Meta’s policy stays in place for long, smaller AI companies could be pushed out before they get a fair chance to compete. That is why the Commission is looking at interim measures. These are temporary steps that can force a company to change its behaviour while the full investigation continues.Meta has not been fined yet and the case is still at an early stage. If interim measures are imposed, Meta could be forced to open WhatsApp to rival AI assistants, including tools similar to ChatGPT, until the final outcome of the case is decided.