Meta appears determined to tighten its grip on the AI chatbot space within WhatsApp.
Since introducing Meta AI, the company has steadily integrated artificial intelligence tools across its platforms from WhatsApp to Instagram offering no clear “kill switch” for users who prefer to opt out of these AI-driven interactions.
Earlier this month, the company revealed plans to leverage user interactions with Meta AI to deliver targeted ads across its family of apps, a move that further intertwines advertising with everyday conversations on its platforms.
In a recent development, Meta has updated its WhatsApp Business API policy to prohibit general-purpose AI chatbots on the platform. The revised policy, posted on October 18, is set to take effect on January 15, 2026, marking a significant shift in how third-party AI tools can operate within the app.
This change means that independent AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke, which currently offer chatbot services on WhatsApp, will no longer be allowed to operate there once the policy takes effect.
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The updated WhatsApp business API policy states, “Providers and developers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies, including but not limited to large language models, generative artificial intelligence platforms, general-purpose artificial intelligence assistants, or similar technologies as determined by Meta in its sole discretion (“AI Providers”), are strictly prohibited from accessing or using the WhatsApp Business Solution, whether directly or indirectly, for the purposes of providing, delivering, offering, selling, or otherwise making available such technologies when such technologies are the primary (rather than incidental or ancillary) functionality being made available for use, as determined by Meta in its sole discretion.”
Meta clarified that the updated policy will not impact businesses that use AI for customer support. This includes sectors such as online retail, banking, travel services, and healthcare, which rely on AI tools to assist customers with routine queries and transactions.
A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch that third-party AI chatbots have created significant strain on the company’s infrastructure. The increased message traffic, the spokesperson explained, demands a different level of technical support that Meta is not currently equipped to handle.
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While Meta attributes the policy change to technical strain on its servers, the growing competition in the artificial intelligence space remains an underlying factor that is hard to ignore.
Earlier this year, Meta established its Superintelligence Labs, recruiting several leading researchers from OpenAI and other major AI firms. These labs are part of a broader industry race to achieve superintelligence, a theoretical stage in AI development where machines could match or surpass human capabilities in most tasks.
Although ChatGPT initially held a first-mover advantage in the chatbot market, it quickly faced competition from American rivals such as Google’s Gemini and xAI’s Grok, as well as Chinese challengers including Qwen and DeepSeek.
Despite this growing competition, ChatGPT remains the most widely used chatbot, although its user base has gradually declined over the past year. Meta’s recent policy changes can be seen as an effort to limit rivals’ presence on WhatsApp and reduce competitive pressure in the AI space.