If you’re going to use an AI chatbot on WhatsApp, Meta will make damn sure it’s one from its own store of AI tech. Starting 15 January 2026, Meta’s newly updated business API policy will go into effect, and bar any third-party AI chatbots — like ChatGPT or Perplexity — from the platform for good.
When the dust has settled, users will be left with Meta AI, which latched onto our phones in April 2024. Not that we’re surprised. Meta’s spent the better part of two years building up its AI CV, and disallowing the competition from accessing your app is just one more step to ensuring that Meta AI gets more eyes on it.
Meta AI all the way
Even so, it isn’t worth crying over kinda-dead chatbots. For one thing, they’re still available elsewhere, and two, Meta confirmed that the change wouldn’t affect businesses using AI to serve their customers, according to a report from TechCrunch. “For instance, a travel company running a bot for customer service won’t be barred from the service.”
“The purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates. Our focus is on supporting the tens of thousands of businesses who are building these experiences on WhatsApp,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch.
Read More: WhatsApp, Messenger introduce alerts to foil scammers targeting the elderly
Meta’s excuse for the change is that it wasn’t prepared for the support associated with companies distributing their chatbot tech on its platform, and increased message volumes placed a lot of strain on its system.
However, the bigger issue for Meta seems to be the loss of potential revenue. Meta charges companies a fee for access to templates like marketing, utility, authentication, and support on the messaging app. Under the old API design, Meta couldn’t charge companies using the API for chatbots. It’s possible that Meta reverts this change in the future when it figures out how to make more money from it.
