Meta Blocks External AI Use on WhatsApp Business Platform – MediaNama

In a move likely to affect Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies like ChatGPT and Perplexity, WhatsApp has updated its Business Application Programming Interface (API) policy to restrict AI providers from accessing the WhatsApp Business Solution for providing their services. For context, WhatsApp’s business solutions allow businesses to communicate with their customers on WhatsApp. They can create verified WhatsApp profiles to address customer queries, showcase their products and services, and accept payments. The restrictions on external AI bots will go into effect starting January 15, 2026. In the recent past, many AI companies and service providers had used these business solutions to access customers. Besides players like ChatGPT and Perplexity, Indian companies like Reliance’s Haptik AI and PuchAI also provide chatbot services over WhatsApp. With the new policy in place, AI companies will no longer be able to distribute their chatbots on the platform. Besides WhatsApp, AI companies were also looking to increase customer access to their chatbots by integrating with other messaging services. In May last year, Microsoft integrated Copilot into Telegram. What specific AI restrictions does the new policy bring? The updated policy strictly prohibits AI providers from accessing WhatsApp’s Business Solution, whether directly or indirectly, “for the purposes of
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