Following a blanket ban in January and a $0.0625 per message charge in March, Meta has submitted a new proposal to the European Commission: free access to WhatsApp for OpenAI, Perplexity and others, up to a usage limit, after which charges would apply. According to Reuters, Meta has proposed that competing AI chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity and Anthropic’s Claude, would have free access to WhatsApp in Europe up to a usage limit, after which charges would apply.
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This proposal was submitted last week after the European Commission indicated that it was considering issuing a formal order requiring Meta to open WhatsApp to third-party AI services under the Digital Markets Act. Meta blocked all third-party AI assistants on WhatsApp on January 15, affecting ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity and several smaller assistants that had established distribution within the app.
That blanket ban sparked antitrust scrutiny in both Brussels and Brazil. In March, Meta partially relented, agreeing to allow competing chatbots access to WhatsApp but at a fee of $0.0625 per message, a structure that regulators and affected AI companies considered commercially prohibitive. The new proposal represents the third iteration of Meta’s approach.
Free access up to a usage limit is what regulators in many jurisdictions have been advocating since the initial ban. Meta is seeking a compromise that satisfies the European Commission’s antitrust review without completely abandoning the per-message revenue model introduced in March. The Commission is examining this proposal alongside broader obligations under the Digital Markets Act. The practical implications of the new structure depend on the usage limit.
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Meta’s submission could also propose a one-month preferential access window for competing companies to integrate with WhatsApp’s developer infrastructure before the pricing goes into effect. If the threshold is high enough to cover normal consumer usage without incurring charges, the proposal could significantly change the competitive landscape of the European AI chatbots market.
Conversely, if the threshold is low enough to trigger rapid charges, it would essentially mirror the March proposal. The stakes for the AI companies affected are significant. WhatsApp has about 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, and about 500 million in Europe. It serves as the default messaging platform in regions such as Brazil, India and parts of the Mediterranean.
Direct distribution of chatbots within WhatsApp has been an established product category for several years, with Perplexity and ChatGPT remaining accessible on the app even during periods of total ban.
The lack of a full technical closure following the ban has given regulators leverage in ongoing negotiations. The broader Digital Markets Act framework is relevant here. The European Commission has pursued similar enforcement actions against Apple over its App Store anti-directive policy and related platform-gatekeeper issues. The WhatsApp case is structurally similar, involving a dominant platform whose interoperability obligations under the DMA conflict with its commercial incentives to favor its own AI products.
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Meta's first-party AI product, Meta AI, is built into WhatsApp by default. Any interaction directed to Meta AI is an interaction that is not directed to OpenAI or Perplexity.
