Meta Opens WhatsApp to OpenAI and Anthropic

WhatsApp is one of the largest instant messaging applications globally, with over 2 billion monthly active users, making it Meta's most crucial traffic entrance. In 2025, Meta updated its AI access policies for WhatsApp, constructing a closed AI ecosystem within the platform, effectively shutting out third-party AI services such as OpenAI and Anthropic. The European Commission promptly launched an investigation based on the Digital Services Act to assess whether Meta is using its platform monopoly to exclude competitors.

In response to regulatory pressure, Meta announced at the beginning of this month that it would temporarily open WhatsApp for free during negotiations with the EU, intending to preemptively resolve potential coercive measures that might be enforced. However, Meta's subsequent paid plan—charging between 5 to 13 cents per message—once again angered the European Commission, which issued a second charge sheet citing "malicious pricing" as the reason.

This time, the limited free access provided is Meta's latest concession in the regulatory tug-of-war. According to the plan leaked by insiders, competitors' AI can be used for free up to a message cap, with charges only kicking in once that cap is exceeded. However, whether this arrangement can truly meet the EU's competitive requirements remains unknown. Meta has not commented on this matter.

For investors, the core risk lies in the direction of WhatsApp's AI ecosystem openness. If forced to fully open up to competitors, Meta's platform advantage in the field of AI assistants will be significantly reduced, and this sector is the key battleground where it competes with OpenAI and Anthropic.