European Union regulators have ordered Meta to restore access to competing AI assistants on WhatsApp while an antitrust investigation into the company’s practices continues.
The interim order, issued by the European Commission, requires Meta to allow third-party AI chatbot providers to use WhatsApp under the same conditions that existed before changes introduced in October 2025. The decision is designed to prevent potential harm to competition while regulators determine whether Meta violated EU antitrust rules.
At the center of the dispute is Meta’s decision to restrict how outside AI companies could interact with users on WhatsApp. According to the Commission, the policy changes effectively left Meta AI as the only general-purpose AI assistant available through the messaging platform. Regulators argue that such restrictions could make it harder for competing AI providers to reach users and grow their services.
The investigation began in December 2025 after complaints that Meta was using WhatsApp’s position in the messaging market to give its own AI products an advantage over rivals. In February, the Commission informed Meta of its preliminary view that the company’s conduct may have breached European competition rules.
Meta later restored access for outside AI providers but introduced fees for companies seeking to offer AI assistants through WhatsApp. European regulators concluded that the pricing structure could still prevent effective competition and said the charges were too high for many companies to operate viably on the platform.
The Commission said AI assistants are rapidly becoming an important way for consumers to access artificial intelligence services and that intervention was necessary before irreversible damage could occur in the emerging market. Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice-president responsible for competition policy, said regulators could not allow dominant technology companies to use their market position to give their own products an unfair advantage.
Under the interim measure, Meta must restore access conditions that existed before October 2025 while the investigation proceeds. The order is expected to remain in place until the Commission reaches a final decision or until June 2029.
Meta has rejected the Commission’s position and plans to appeal. The company argues that the decision forces it to provide free access to services used by some of the world’s largest AI companies and describes the order as regulatory overreach.
If regulators ultimately conclude that Meta violated EU competition law, the company could face fines of up to 10% of its global annual revenue.