WhatsApp Expands AI Chatbot Access to Brazil
▼ Summary
– Meta is now allowing rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Brazil for a fee, following a similar move in Europe, after a regulatory order.
– Brazil’s antitrust regulator, CADE, rejected Meta’s appeal and ruled that banning third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp would cause competitive harm.
– Meta will charge companies $0.0625 per “non-template message” in Brazil to use the WhatsApp Business API for their AI chatbots.
– The policy change, announced last October, faced antitrust scrutiny as Meta offers its own competing AI chatbot, Meta AI, within WhatsApp.
– Some developers are hesitant to resume services due to Meta’s high pricing, though a complainant, Zapia, welcomed the regulatory decision.
Meta has opened its WhatsApp platform in Brazil to third-party artificial intelligence chatbots, a significant shift following regulatory pressure. This move allows competing AI firms to integrate their services through the WhatsApp Business API, though they will now face a new fee structure. The decision comes directly after Brazil’s antitrust authority ruled against Meta’s previous attempt to restrict these external services, highlighting a growing global trend of regulatory intervention in big tech’s platform governance.
Brazil’s antitrust regulator, CADE, rejected Meta’s appeal this week, upholding an order that prevents the company from blocking rival AI chatbots on its popular messaging service. The tribunal found sufficient evidence of potential competitive harm, noting WhatsApp’s dominant position in the country’s instant messaging market. The regulator stated that an outright ban on these third-party services “would not be proportionate,” effectively mandating that Meta provide access.
In response, Meta confirmed it will permit these AI providers to operate on WhatsApp wherever legally required, including in Brazil, but will begin charging for the service. The company will implement a rate of $0.0625 for each “non-template message” sent by these chatbots, with the new pricing taking effect on March 11. A company spokesperson explained that in jurisdictions with legal mandates, they are introducing pricing for businesses that opt to use their platform to deliver AI services.
This conflict originated last October when Meta announced a policy change to limit AI chatbots on its Business API, sparking antitrust investigations in several regions. Critics argued the move was anti-competitive, especially since Meta promotes its own AI assistant, Meta AI, within WhatsApp. The company has defended its position by stating its API was not originally built for AI chatbot traffic and that these services place a heavy burden on its technical infrastructure.
Despite the regulatory win for openness, some AI developers express hesitation about returning to the platform. They indicate that Meta’s newly announced fees are prohibitively high and could make offering services through WhatsApp economically challenging. The pricing model may deter smaller innovators from participating, potentially limiting the competitive landscape the ruling aimed to foster.
One of the complainants in the Brazilian case, the AI company Zapia, welcomed CADE’s decision. The firm released a statement championing user choice and open platforms, arguing that innovation thrives when dominant services do not impose restrictive barriers. Zapia affirmed its commitment to challenging similar restrictions elsewhere in Latin America and will monitor how Meta adjusts its policies in Brazil to adhere to the ruling.
(Source: TechCrunch)
