Meta opens WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots in Europe for a fee, but competitors cry foul

Meta will allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe, but for a fee | TechCrunch

In a bid to stave off a major investigation by the European Commission, Meta said on Thursday that it would allow AI companies to offer their chatbots on WhatsApp via its business API for the next 12 months in Europe. The move comes a month after the European Commission told Meta that it intended to impose interim measures in order to stop the company from implementing its policy, which barred third-party AI chatbot providers from using the WhatsApp Business API to offer their services on the app. "For the next 12 months, we'll support general-purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process," the company said in an emailed statement. "We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation." Meta says it will allow general-purpose AI chatbot providers to offer their services on WhatsApp for a fee, which ranges from €0.0490 to €0.1323 per "non-template message," depending on the country. Considering the fact that conversations with AI assistants usually comprise dozens of messages, the bill could prove costly for third-party service providers. "The Commission is analysing the impact these changes may have on its interim measures investigation, as well as on its broader antitrust investigation on the substance," a spokesperson for the European Commission said in an emailed statement. The policy change went into effect on January 15, spurring several AI assistant providers to complain to regulators that it was disrupting their business and the decision was anti-competitive. Notably, the policy does not apply to businesses that are using AI to serve customers on WhatsApp. For instance, a retailer running an AI-powered customer service bot that sends templatized messages won't be barred from using the API. Only AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Poke are prohibited from being offered via the API. The decision follows a similar move by the company in January, when it started allowing developers to tap its API to offer their chatbots in Italy. Regulators around the world raised antitrust concerns after Meta announced the policy change last October, with the EU, Italy, and Brazil all launching investigations, especially because the company offers its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, on WhatsApp. WhatsApp has in the past justified its stance by arguing that AI chatbots strain its systems in ways that its Business API wasn't designed to support. "The AI space is highly competitive, and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems," the company previously told TechCrunch.

Meta to allow AI rivals on WhatsApp in bid to stave off EU action

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence rivals will be allowed on WhatsApp for a year, Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab said, aiming to head off a possible temporary order from EU antitrust regulators after complaints from competitors shut out of the messaging service. The European Commission, the EU's competition enforcer, last month threatened interim measures to prevent potential serious and irreparable harm to rivals after Meta blocked them from WhatsApp, mirroring moves by Italy's watchdog in December. Meta has now told the Commission it will let rival AI chatbots access WhatsApp for a fee. The company barred them on January 15, allowing only its Meta AI ⁠assistant on the service. "For the next 12 months, we'll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process," a Meta spokesperson said. "We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation." The Commission said it was analysing how Meta's changes might affect both its interim measures review and its broader antitrust investigation. Meta has previously said the rise of chatbots on its platforms strains its systems and that other channels exist for AI providers, ⁠including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems. Meta allowed rival chatbots onto WhatsApp in Italy in January after an order from the Italian antitrust authority, which is still investigating. The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant and a complainant to EU and Italian regulators, urged Brussels to ⁠impose an interim order on Meta. "What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp ⁠as the outright ban did," its CEO Marvin von Hagen said. "The so-called Italian 'solution' is thus no solution at all. It simply replaces one anti-competitive restriction with another," he said. Meta said its policy ⁠changes will also apply in Brazil after a court on Wednesday reinstated an injunction from the country's antitrust authority that another court had suspended in January. The Brazilian case is similar to the EU and Italian ones. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence * Data Privacy * Regulatory Oversight * Antitrust Foo Yun Chee Thomson Reuters An agenda-setting and market-moving journalist, Foo Yun Chee is a 21-year veteran at Reuters. Her stories on high profile mergers have pushed up the European telecoms index, lifted companies' shares and helped investors decide on their next move. Her knowledge and experience of European antitrust laws and developments helped her break stories on Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple, numerous market-moving mergers and antitrust investigations. She has previously reported on Greek politics and companies, when Greece's entry into the eurozone meant it punched above its weight on the international stage, as well as on Dutch corporate giants and the quirks of Dutch society and culture that never fail to charm readers.

Meta to allow AI rivals on WhatsApp in bid to stave off EU action - The Economic Times

Artificial intelligence rivals will be allowed on WhatsApp for a year, Meta Platforms said, aiming to head off a possible temporary order from EU antitrust regulators after complaints from competitors shut out of the messaging service. The European Commission, the EU's competition enforcer, last month threatened interim measures to prevent potential serious and irreparable harm to rivals after Meta blocked them from WhatsApp, ⁠mirroring moves ⁠by Italy's watchdog in December. Meta has now told the Commission it will let rival AI chatbots access WhatsApp for a fee. The company barred them on January 15, allowing only its Meta AI assistant on the service. "For the next 12 months, we'll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process," a Meta spokesperson said. "We believe that this removes ⁠the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation." The Commission said it was analysing how ⁠Meta's changes might affect both its interim measures review and its broader antitrust investigation. Meta has previously said the rise of chatbots on its platforms strains its systems and that other channels exist for AI providers, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems. Meta allowed rival chatbots onto WhatsApp in Italy in January after an order from the Italian antitrust authority, which is still investigating. The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant and a complainant to EU and Italian regulators, urged Brussels to impose an interim order on Meta. "What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company ⁠is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp as the outright ban did," its CEO Marvin von Hagen said. "The so-called Italian 'solution' is thus no solution at all. It simply replaces one anti-competitive restriction with another," he said. Meta said its policy changes will also apply in Brazil after a court on Wednesday reinstated an injunction from the country's antitrust authority that another court had suspended in January. The Brazilian case is similar to the EU and Italian ones.

Meta to allow AI rivals on WhatsApp in bid to stave off EU action

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence rivals will be allowed on WhatsApp for a year, Meta Platforms said, aiming to head off a possible temporary order from EU antitrust regulators after complaints from competitors shut out of the messaging service. The European Commission, the EU's competition enforcer, last month threatened interim measures to prevent potential serious and irreparable harm to rivals after Meta blocked them from WhatsApp, mirroring moves by Italy's watchdog in December. Meta has now told the Commission it will let rival AI chatbots access WhatsApp for a fee. The company barred them on January 15, allowing only its Meta AI assistant on the service. "For the next 12 months, we'll support general purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission's regulatory process," a Meta spokesperson said. "We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation." The Commission said it was analysing how Meta's changes might affect both its interim measures review and its broader antitrust investigation. Meta has previously said the rise of chatbots on its platforms strains its systems and that other channels exist for AI providers, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations and operating systems. Meta allowed rival chatbots onto WhatsApp in Italy in January after an order from the Italian antitrust authority, which is still investigating. The Interaction Company of California, developer of the Poke.com AI assistant and a complainant to EU and Italian regulators, urged Brussels to impose an interim order on Meta. "What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp as the outright ban did," its CEO Marvin von Hagen said. "The so-called Italian 'solution' is thus no solution at all. It simply replaces one anti-competitive restriction with another," he said. Meta said its policy changes will also apply in Brazil after a court on Wednesday reinstated an injunction from the country's antitrust authority that another court had suspended in January. The Brazilian case is similar to the EU and Italian ones. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Editing by Mark Potter)