The European Commission has issued a sweeping mandate under the EU's Digital Markets Act requiring Meta Platforms to open WhatsApp to rival AI chatbot developers. This represents the most aggressive regulatory push yet to break open the AI assistant market, marking a watershed moment in the collision between platform power and AI competition. The order follows complaints from The Interaction Company (California-based developer of Poke.com AI assistant), French startup Agentik, and a Spanish AI rival. EU Antitrust Commissioner Teresa Ribera stated that the measure will prevent serious harm to competition during the ongoing probe, emphasizing that "AI markets are developing exceptionally fast and AI assistants are expected to become an important way for consumers all across Europe to access and use AI." The Commission has now confirmed that "OpenAI and some of the largest companies in the world can use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free," as reported by Reuters. The EU had warned Meta it faced interim measures if it did not open WhatsApp to rival AI assistants in February, and the company then introduced an access fee -- a remedy the EU rejected in April as unsatisfactory. Ribera said Meta's fee was so high it was "not economically sustainable for competitors," without providing more details.
The European Commission launched a formal investigation in December 2025 after Meta restricted rival AI providers from WhatsApp. The probe examines whether Meta violated EU antitrust rules by limiting access to WhatsApp's Business API — a key tool that enables companies to integrate their services with the messaging platform. EU regulators last year began scrutinizing updated terms and conditions for Meta's business customers using AI assistants to communicate with customers over WhatsApp, with concerns that the agreement prevented third-party AI companies from offering their assistants on the platform, leaving only Meta's chatbot service available to users. The Commission issued charges against Meta two months later, alleging breaches of EU antitrust rules, and additional charges in April after Meta levied access fees. With WhatsApp commanding over 2 billion monthly active users globally and Meta pushing its own Meta AI assistant aggressively across its family of apps, regulators argue the company's refusal to allow third-party AI integration effectively locks competitors out of reaching users where they already spend their time. Meta attempted to resolve the probe by charging rivals for access, but that didn't satisfy regulators, who threatened in April to force the company to reinstate access for free. Ribera said Meta's fee was so high it was "not economically sustainable for competitors," without providing more details.
The EU's mandate requires Meta to develop APIs and technical frameworks that allow third-party AI providers to plug their chatbots directly into WhatsApp. Under the ruling, users could theoretically switch between ChatGPT, Claude, or Meta AI within the same conversation thread, representing a potential shortcut to billions of users for companies like OpenAI. The Commission stated that the fee was, at first sight, equivalent to the earlier access ban, and the order would remain in place until June 2029 or until the end of the investigation, which has no deadline. Under the interim measure, Meta must restore rivals' access to the WhatsApp for Business API on the same terms and conditions that applied before October, within five working days. Meta has two months to figure out how to comply without gutting its competitive position, while OpenAI and rivals are already planning how to leverage this forced opening. The EU's goal is that Meta reinstates third-party AI assistants' access to WhatsApp under the same conditions as before its October 2025 policy change when it "effectively" barred them, as reported by AFP.
Meta has criticised the Commission order, with a spokesperson stating "This is regulatory overreach subsidised by the many European companies that pay. We will appeal." As reported by BBC News, Meta accused regulators of "regulatory overreach" and argued the decision essentially hands competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic free distribution to WhatsApp's massive user base without requiring them to build their own platforms. "This isn't about competition - it's about forcing us to hand over years of infrastructure investment to rivals," a Meta spokesperson told BBC News. Meta's pushback focuses on security and privacy concerns, with one executive telling The Verge on background: "We built WhatsApp. We scaled it. We encrypted it. Now Brussels wants to turn it into a public utility for AI companies that contributed nothing." The commission said it has the power to impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the company's total turnover in the business year preceding the infringement if Meta "either intentionally or negligently" contravenes the decision on interim measures. The last time the EU used such interim measures was in 2019, Ribera said, as reported by AFP.
This ruling represents a watershed moment in the collision between platform power and AI competition, with the days of walled-garden messaging platforms potentially numbered. For users, the promise is more choice as they gain access to multiple AI assistants within WhatsApp's ecosystem. For Meta, it's a direct threat to the moat it spent 15 years building, as the company faces the prospect of commoditizing its messaging layer and turning WhatsApp into infrastructure that powers competitors' AI ambitions. The legal battle ahead will determine not just WhatsApp's future, but whether regulators can effectively force interoperability in the AI age. If Meta doesn't comply with the order, it could face fines of up to 10% of annual revenue, creating significant financial incentive for compliance while maintaining its competitive position in the rapidly evolving AI assistant market. Brussels has occasionally resorted to temporary orders after facing criticism that previous years-long antitrust investigations into Big Tech companies were too slow to rein in their market power, with Commission's executive vice-president Teresa Ribera explaining that "when the damage can happen quickly and there is a risk of companies being forced to leave the market, we need to use our tools." The commission described an "urgent need" to protect a "growing market for general-purpose AI assistants" and give space for smaller players and new entrants to challenge large incumbents, as reported by AFP.
