WhatsApp Bans General-Purpose Chatbots from Business API to Protect Revenue Model and System Integrity

WhatsApp has updated its business API terms to prohibit general-purpose chatbots from operating on its platform. The change, effective January 15, 2026, bars AI providers—including companies like OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke—from using the WhatsApp Business Solution to distribute AI assistants or large language models as their primary function. The new policy explicitly restricts any provider of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies—such as generative AI platforms, general-purpose AI assistants, or similar systems—from accessing or using the API for the purpose of offering, delivering, or selling such technologies, if they are the core functionality being provided. Meta reserves the right to determine what constitutes a primary use case. This shift does not impact businesses that use AI to support customer service or operational workflows on WhatsApp. For example, a company using a chatbot to handle bookings, track orders, or answer common customer questions remains compliant. The restriction targets AI tools designed to function as standalone assistants rather than as tools embedded within a business’s customer engagement strategy. Meta stated that the WhatsApp Business API was built to help businesses deliver customer support and send relevant updates, not to serve as a distribution channel for AI models. The company noted that while it anticipated use cases around customer service, it recently observed an increase in unapproved use—specifically, AI providers deploying general-purpose chatbots directly on WhatsApp. These new use cases have created significant strain on WhatsApp’s infrastructure due to high message volumes and complex interactions. Meta said it lacks the operational and monetization frameworks needed to support such systems at scale, especially since the current API model doesn’t include a clear way to charge for AI-driven conversations. The move also has financial implications. WhatsApp’s business messaging service generates revenue through message templates used for marketing, utility, authentication, and support. However, general-purpose chatbots don’t fit neatly into these categories, meaning Meta cannot charge them under the existing pricing model. This restriction effectively blocks WhatsApp from becoming a platform for AI assistant distribution, leaving Meta AI as the only AI assistant available on the app. In the past, OpenAI and Perplexity launched their bots on WhatsApp, enabling users to ask questions, analyze media, respond to voice messages, and generate images—features that attracted millions of users but also increased system load without generating revenue for Meta. During Meta’s Q1 2025 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the potential of business messaging as a key future revenue stream. With over 3 billion monthly active users on WhatsApp and growing adoption in the U.S., he highlighted that business messaging could become the next major pillar of Meta’s business, complementing its current advertising model on Facebook and Instagram. The new policy is seen as a strategic step to protect and scale this vision.