Overview
- The updated terms bar AI providers whose primary offering is a general-purpose assistant from using the WhatsApp Business Solution starting January 15, 2026.
- AI used for customer service or other task-specific purposes remains allowed because such use is considered incidental or ancillary to a business workflow.
- Meta told TechCrunch that general-purpose bots generated heavy message volumes and demanded support the Business API was not designed to provide.
- The policy will affect WhatsApp integrations from OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia and Poke, and OpenAI confirmed its WhatsApp contact will stop working after the deadline.
- Reports note the shift concentrates chatbot access on Meta’s platform and could advantage Meta AI, with India’s competition watchdog warning about big tech control in AI.