Meta offers rival AI chatbots limited free WhatsApp access after EU pressure mounts

Meta Proposes Usage Cap Model After Regulatory Pressure

Meta has filed a fresh proposal with the European Commission that would grant rival AI chatbots limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe, marking the third iteration of the company's approach to opening its messaging platform1

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. The proposal, submitted last week, would allow OpenAI's ChatGPT, Perplexity, Anthropic's Claude, and other AI chatbots to access WhatsApp free of charge up to a usage threshold, after which fees would apply1

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. The submission comes after Brussels signaled it was considering a formal order forcing Meta to open WhatsApp to third-party AI services under the Digital Markets Act1

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From Blanket Ban to Fee Structure

The journey to this proposal began on January 15, when Meta blocked all third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp, affecting ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, and several smaller services that had built distribution inside the messaging app1

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. That blanket ban triggered antitrust scrutiny in both Brussels and Brazil. Meta partially relented in March, agreeing to open WhatsApp to rival chatbots but at a $0.0625-per-message fee, a structure both EU regulators and affected AI companies treated as commercially prohibitive1

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. The new free-up-to-a-cap framework represents the structure that regulators across multiple jurisdictions have been pushing for since the original ban1

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Stakes in the AI Assistant Market

The competitive implications are substantial. WhatsApp has roughly 2 billion monthly active users globally and approximately 500 million monthly active users in Europe, making it default consumer messaging infrastructure in regions like Brazil, India, and parts of the Mediterranean1

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. What the new structure actually delivers in practice depends entirely on where the cap is set. If the threshold is high enough to allow normal consumer use without triggering fees, the proposal materially changes the competitive dynamics of the European AI-chatbot market1

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. Meta's submission may also include a one-month preferential access window for rival companies to integrate with WhatsApp's developer infrastructure before pricing takes effect1

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Smaller Rivals Cry Foul Over Fair Competition

Despite Meta's offer, smaller competitors argue the proposal still falls short of ensuring fair competition. The Interaction Company of California, which develops the Poke.com AI assistant, stated that "Meta's current proposal is far from resolving any of the competition concerns identified in this case," urging the European Commission to move ahead with interim measures2

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. French startup Agentik raised another concern, arguing that the proposal discriminates against rivals because Meta's own AI assistant does not rely on WhatsApp's API in the same way outside companies would2

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. Interested parties were reportedly given until May 18 to respond before regulators decide whether the proposal should move forward2

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Big Tech Faces Interoperability Requirements

The wider Digital Markets Act context shapes how this dispute unfolds. The European Commission has been running comparable enforcement tracks against Big Tech platforms, including Apple over App Store anti-steering measures, and the WhatsApp case is structurally similar: a dominant platform whose interoperability obligations under the DMA cut against the platform's own commercial incentive to favor first-party AI products1

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. Meta's first-party AI product, Meta AI, sits inside WhatsApp by default, meaning every consumer interaction the platform routes to Meta AI is one not routed to OpenAI or Perplexity1

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. The Commission's posture indicates that DMA's interoperability obligations apply specifically to that competitive trade1

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What Comes Next for Market Dominance Battle

The Commission's review timeline is not public but is expected to produce a formal decision within the next several months following standard Article 8 DMA cadence1

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. The European Commission declined detailed comment but repeated that its focus remains on keeping the AI assistant market "open and competitive for innovators"2

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. Whether OpenAI, Perplexity and Anthropic can build sustainable economics around WhatsApp-routed consumer AI usage depends on where the Commission lands the cap1

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. As competition in AI intensifies, the fight over WhatsApp access is quickly turning into a bigger battle over who controls the future of digital assistants2

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