Meta eases WhatsApp AI limits after Brazil steps in

Meta Platforms has exempted Brazil from a policy that barred third-party artificial intelligence chatbots from operating through WhatsApp’s Business API, adjusting its global stance after intervention by the country’s competition authority. The decision allows businesses in Brazil to continue deploying external AI tools on WhatsApp, reversing a restriction that had drawn complaints from technology firms and raised concerns about market foreclosure.

The change follows scrutiny by Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defence, known as CADE, which questioned whether Meta’s policy unfairly constrained competition by favouring its own AI offerings. Under the original rule, businesses were prevented from integrating non-Meta AI chatbots into customer service and commerce workflows on WhatsApp’s Business API, a channel widely used by retailers, banks and service providers across Brazil.

Meta’s revised position mirrors an earlier accommodation in Italy, where the national competition authority ordered the company to permit third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp. In both jurisdictions, regulators argued that blocking outside AI services could harm innovation and limit consumer choice in fast-growing digital markets. By granting country-specific exemptions, Meta has opted for regulatory de-escalation while maintaining the broader policy elsewhere.

Brazil represents one of WhatsApp’s largest and most commercially significant markets, with tens of millions of businesses relying on the platform for sales, payments and customer engagement. AI-driven chatbots have become integral to these operations, handling order tracking, appointment scheduling and automated support in Portuguese at scale. Industry executives warned that removing access to third-party AI would have forced firms to rebuild systems or accept higher costs tied to proprietary tools.

Meta has said the original policy was designed to keep WhatsApp’s Business API focused on messaging rather than becoming a general-purpose AI platform, and to ensure consistency, security and data protection for users. Company representatives also pointed to plans to roll out Meta-developed AI features for business messaging, positioning the restriction as a transitional measure rather than an outright exclusion of automation.

Regulators, however, viewed the timing and scope differently. CADE’s engagement centred on whether the rule created an uneven playing field by limiting rivals while Meta prepared to introduce its own AI products. Competition specialists noted that such behaviour can be sensitive in markets where a single messaging service holds dominant reach, making interoperability decisions especially consequential.

The Brazilian exemption underscores a wider pattern of regulatory pressure on global technology companies as governments seek to assert oversight over AI deployment, data use and platform power. Competition authorities in Europe and Latin America have become more willing to intervene early, particularly where policies risk shaping nascent AI ecosystems before rivals can establish scale.

For developers and AI startups, the decision offers short-term relief and signals that regulators may act as a counterweight when platform rules threaten access to essential digital infrastructure. Several firms providing conversational AI for commerce welcomed the move, saying it preserves room for specialised tools tailored to local language, culture and sector-specific needs.

The episode also illustrates Meta’s increasingly pragmatic approach to regulation. Rather than contesting orders through prolonged legal battles, the company has shown readiness to carve out national exceptions, absorbing some operational complexity to protect its core businesses. Analysts note that this strategy reduces immediate regulatory friction but may lead to a patchwork of rules that complicates product governance.

Beyond Brazil and Italy, scrutiny of AI-related platform policies is intensifying. Authorities are examining how dominant firms integrate proprietary AI into existing services, whether self-preferencing is occurring, and how data advantages might reinforce market power. Messaging platforms, given their role in commerce and public communication, are drawing particular attention.