After Europe, WhatsApp will allow competing AI companies to introduce chatbots in Brazil

Meta is now allowing rival AI companies to make their WhatsApp chatbots available to Brazilian users for a fee, a day after the company confirmed a similar decision to users in Europe.

Earlier this week, Brazilian antitrust authority CADE ruled against Meta and rejected its appeal to block an earlier order suspending its policy change that sought to ban third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp.

“After reviewing the case, the CADE Court decided that the necessary requirements to maintain the safeguard measure were in place. According to the case rapporteur, Counsel Carlos Jacques, there is evidence of legal reasonableness, taking into account the importance of WhatsApp in the Brazilian instant messaging services market,” the CADE ruling said.

The regulator added that banning third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp “would be disproportionate” and could result in competitive harm.

Meta said in response that it will allow third-party chatbot providers to use the WhatsApp Business API to offer their services on the app for a fee, wherever legally required. The company will charge $0.0625 per “non-form message” in Brazil as of March 11.

“Where we are legally required to provide AI chatbots through the WhatsApp Business API, we offer pricing to businesses that choose to use our platform to provide these services,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Meta announced the policy change last October, leading to several antitrust investigations, especially since the company offers its own chatbot, Meta AI, within WhatsApp. The company asserted that its WhatsApp Business API was not designed to meet the needs of AI-powered chatbots and was putting a strain on the company’s system.

While Meta now allows third-party chatbots in some regions due to regulations, developers told TechCrunch they are hesitant to resume services, saying the prices set by Meta are high and could result in higher costs.

Zapia, one of the companies that filed the complaint with CADE in Brazil, welcomed the decision.

“Competition and blocking powerful companies limit how innovation reaches users. At Zapia, we believe people should be free to choose the AI ​​tools they use, and innovation only thrives when the platforms people rely on every day remain open. We will continue to challenge these restrictions in the rest of Latin America, and now look forward to seeing how Meta adapts its policies in Brazil to comply with the decision,” she said in a statement.