Meta Platforms will allow rival artificial intelligence chatbots to operate on WhatsApp in Brazil after a ruling from the country’s antitrust authority, Administrative Council for Economic Defense. The decision follows a similar move announced for Europe earlier in the week.
Brazil’s regulator rejected Meta’s appeal against an order that blocked its policy restricting third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp. Officials said banning competing chatbots could harm competition in the messaging market, where WhatsApp plays a dominant role.
In response, Meta said AI chatbot providers can integrate through the WhatsApp Business API where legally required. The company plans to charge $0.0625 per non-template message starting March 11 in Brazil.
Developers have expressed concern about the pricing structure, arguing it could make large-scale deployment costly. Meta maintains that AI chatbots increase system strain and that the Business API was not originally designed to support them, even as regulators push for broader platform access.
