EU orders Meta to restore free access to AI rivals in WhatsApp

WhatsApp will soon have to offer a choice of AI assistants to users, at least in Europe.

The European Commission (EC) has ordered platform owner Meta to restore free access to rival general purpose AI assistants in WhatsApp. This is an interim measure until the European Union's executive body finishes its antitrust investigation; though, drawing from previous similar cases, it's likely that the decision stays for good.

Meta started blocking third party AI assistants in WhatsApp back in Oct. 2025, prompting the EC to launch its investigation into the measure in Dec. 2025. "The Commission is concerned that such new policy may prevent third party AI providers from offering their services through WhatsApp," the cabinet said at the time.

The EC's position, in a nutshell, is that Meta has a dominant position in the realm of chat apps, and that it is abusing this position by preventing competing AI chatbots from running on its platform, favoring its own Meta AI chatbot instead.

If that sounds familiar, just remember previous investigations by the EC, including those into Alphabet and Google, as well as Apple and Meta. Many of these hinge on one point: a dominant platform on the market is stifling innovation and hurting competitors by favoring its own products or outright banning others from competing on the platform.

The EC's interim measure requires Meta to reinstate access for third-party general purpose AI assistants to the WhatsApp for free, and it has to do so within five working days. The investigation remains ongoing.

Mashable has reached out to Meta and will update this article when we hear back.