Meta has decided to restrict independent AI chatbots from using WhatsApp’s Business API. The change, effective January 15, 2026[1], prevents companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke from offering their assistants directly on the chat app.
The new rule adds a section for AI developers in the WhatsApp Business policy. It defines them as providers of large language models or generative systems and bars them from distributing chatbots that act as general assistants. The company says the API is meant for business communication, not for deploying public AI tools.
WhatsApp refocuses on business use
Meta designed the Business API to help companies manage customer messages, confirmations, or product updates. These features remain unaffected. What changes is the growing presence of chatbots that perform broad conversational tasks. OpenAI and Perplexity both launched assistants on WhatsApp earlier this year. They could answer questions, read images, and reply to voice notes, which caused a rise in traffic. Meta said the system wasn’t built to handle that type of workload or the support demands that followed.
Revenue structure at stake
Beyond system strain, there’s a financial reason for the change. The Business API brings in money for Meta by charging companies based on message categories such as marketing or support. Chatbots didn’t fit that model, which meant Meta couldn’t collect fees from their activity. By removing them, the company protects one of its few direct revenue channels inside WhatsApp.
Mark Zuckerberg has called business messaging a key area for future income. WhatsApp already reaches more than three billion users worldwide and continues to grow in the United States. By limiting AI chatbots, Meta is keeping the platform focused on its commercial core and away from external experiments that might blur that purpose.
Policy language adds new limits
The updated terms go beyond blocking chatbots. Businesses cannot use WhatsApp data to train or improve any AI model, even in anonymous form. They can fine-tune internal models for private use, but Meta forbids sharing or using that data to develop larger systems. The company reserves full authority to decide what counts as an AI provider and can close accounts that break these conditions.
Meta’s larger strategy
The move ensures that Meta AI remains the only assistant built directly into WhatsApp. It also signals a tightening of control over how other developers can interact with its platforms. For AI firms, losing access to WhatsApp removes a valuable channel to billions of users. For Meta, it marks a step toward keeping innovation and revenue inside its own network rather than allowing external models to grow on its infrastructure.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: DIW-Aigen.
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References
- ^ January 15, 2026 (www.whatsapp.com)
- ^ Wikipedia Faces Drop in Human Traffic as AI and Social Video Change Search Habits (www.digitalinformationworld.com)