WhatsApp is no longer enforcing its recent policy that barred third-party general-purpose chatbots from operating on the platform via its Business API for users in Brazil. The move comes just days after Brazil’s competition regulator, CADE, raised concerns about the rule, which had required developers to stop responding to user queries on WhatsApp by January 15, 2026, and to notify users their chatbots would no longer function. Meta has now informed AI providers that the requirement to cease interactions and issue pre-approved auto-replies does not apply to users with Brazilian phone numbers (country code +55). In a notice seen by TechCrunch, Meta stated that the 90-day grace period and associated obligations no longer apply for Brazil. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the change. The policy change specifically affects general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok, which are not tied to individual businesses. However, it does not impact businesses using chatbots for customer service, which remain permitted under WhatsApp’s rules. Brazil’s competition agency had criticized the policy, arguing it could be exclusionary and unfairly favor Meta’s own AI assistant, Meta AI, which is available on WhatsApp. The regulator is now investigating whether the terms unduly restrict competition. Meta previously granted a similar exemption to users in Italy after the Italian competition authority raised similar concerns in December. The European Union has also launched a separate antitrust investigation into the policy, citing potential anti-competitive behavior. WhatsApp has defended the move, stating that the surge in AI chatbot usage has strained its systems, which were originally designed for business communication, not large-scale AI interactions. A company spokesperson said, “These claims are fundamentally flawed. The emergence of AI chatbots on our Business API put a strain on our systems that they were not designed to support. This logic assumes WhatsApp is somehow a de facto app store. The route to market for AI companies is the app stores themselves, their websites and industry partnerships; not the WhatsApp Business Platform.”