EU Orders Meta to Reopen WhatsApp to AI Rivals – TechRepublic

Meta may be forced to reopen its messaging platform WhatsApp to rival AI services months after booting them off, following the European Commission’s call for their swift reinstatement. The Commission’s intervention comes before it has completed its antitrust investigation, as it claims competition could be harmed before the case concludes. Meta has already embedded its own AI model more deeply into WhatsApp Business and is rapidly exploring other chatbot use cases within the messaging service. “In rapidly evolving markets, competition can be lost long before a final decision is adopted,” said EC Commissioner for Competition Teresa Ribera in a press statement on Tuesday. “These interim measures will safeguard competition in the growing market for AI assistants, by preserving a key entry point to reach consumers in Europe – WhatsApp – and allowing AI companies to innovate, scale up and reach their full potential.” All AI chatbots were kicked off WhatsApp late last year as Meta began transitioning away from the open-source, collaborative approach it had adopted during its early AI research. Microsoft announced it would pull Copilot from WhatsApp in January 2026, and other smaller players were unceremoniously booted off around that time. Some smaller startups welcomed the decision, including
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