Italy’s Competition Authority has ordered Meta Platforms to suspend a policy that restricts companies from offering their own AI chatbots through WhatsApp’s business tools. The interim measure follows an ongoing investigation into whether Meta is abusing its dominant position by favoring its Meta AI chatbot within the messaging platform.
The regulator said the policy could limit market access and technical development in the AI chatbot sector, potentially causing lasting harm to competition while the investigation continues. The rule change, introduced in October and set to take effect in January, bars general-purpose AI chatbots from being distributed via WhatsApp’s business API.
The restriction would affect AI services from companies such as OpenAI and Perplexity, while allowing businesses to continue using AI-powered tools for customer service and commerce on WhatsApp. Meta has argued that its business API was not designed to support large-scale AI chatbot distribution and that alternative routes to market remain available.
The European Commission has also opened a parallel investigation into the policy’s impact across the European Economic Area. Meta said it plans to appeal the Italian authority’s decision, calling the findings flawed and overstating WhatsApp’s role in AI distribution.
