Meta is offering rival AI chatbot providers, including companies like OpenAI, limited free access to the WhatsApp Business API in Europe as pressure mounts from EU antitrust regulators.
- The move comes amid an ongoing EU competition investigation into whether Meta unfairly favored its own AI assistant inside WhatsApp.
- Rival chatbots would reportedly get temporary free access before charges apply once message usage exceeds a defined threshold.
- Smaller AI firms argued the proposal still creates unequal competitive conditions and does not fully resolve market access concerns.
- The European Commission is evaluating whether stronger interoperability requirements should be imposed on Meta’s ecosystem.
- The development signals a broader shift toward “AI platform interoperability” becoming a regulatory expectation rather than a voluntary feature.
Source: ET CIO, Reuters