Italy tells Meta to let rival AI chatbots back on WhatsApp
Italy's competition watchdog just told Meta to pause its ban that blocks other AI chatbots from using WhatsApp.
The move comes after concerns that Meta might be giving its own chatbot an unfair boost while shutting out rivals, which could mean fewer choices for users and less competition in the growing AI chatbot world.
What's behind the decision?
Meta's rule, set in January, kept companies like OpenAI and Perplexity from plugging their bots into WhatsApp—though customer service bots were still allowed.
After Meta tweaked the policy in October, Italy's AGCM expanded its investigation, and now even the European Commission is looking into how this could affect users across Europe.
So far, Meta says WhatsApp's API isn't meant for chatbots but hasn't responded directly to Italy's latest order.