New Delhi, October 19, 2025: Social media giant Meta has announced a major policy shift, revealing that third-party AI chatbots will soon be blocked on WhatsApp. Following this move, Meta AI will remain the only official assistant available on the world’s largest messaging platform.
The company has updated its WhatsApp Business API policy, explicitly prohibiting general-purpose AI chatbots from operating on the platform. The new rule will take effect on January 15, 2026, preventing external AI assistants, including those from OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke, from functioning on WhatsApp.
FCRF Launches CCLP Program to Train India’s Next Generation of Cyber Law Practitioners
Meta’s revised API terms define “AI Providers” broadly, covering large language models and general-purpose AI assistants. The updated policy states that AI technologies cannot use the WhatsApp Business Solution if the chatbot itself is the primary service offered. According to Meta, this aligns with WhatsApp’s original purpose as a business-to-customer communication tool, not a platform for distributing general AI services.
A Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch,
“The purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates. We aim to prioritise these use cases over general-purpose chatbots.”
The restriction does not affect businesses using AI in limited capacities, such as travel agencies, e-commerce brands, or automated customer service tools. The policy primarily targets AI startups that have been using WhatsApp to distribute chat-based assistants directly to consumers, which Meta says has strained its infrastructure and support systems.
This decision consolidates Meta’s position on WhatsApp, reinforcing its in-house Meta AI chatbot, which has already expanded across Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Once the policy comes into effect, WhatsApp users will have access to Meta AI exclusively, effectively locking out competing AI assistants from the platform.
