Khaberni - In the fierce competition between artificial intelligence companies, "Meta," the owner of the "WhatsApp" application, has revealed a radical update to its policies, which involves banning multi-purpose smart chatbots on the platform starting from January 15, 2026.
According to the new terms published by "Gulf News," AI models such as "ChatGPT," "Perplexity," "Luzia," and "Poke" will not be allowed to operate on WhatsApp after the specified date.
"Meta" confirms that the platform is exclusively for commercial applications, concerned with customer services, reservations, and verification, and not for open conversation robots that provide general answers to users.
Concerns
"Open AI" indicates that independent chatbots are putting increasing pressure on WhatsApp servers and affecting the revenue model, emphasizing that AI tools can only be used within broader commercial services, and not as a standalone primary product.
"Meta AI" dominates
Under this policy, the artificial intelligence assistant from Meta, "Meta AI," will be the only robot allowed for public interaction on "WhatsApp," in a move that highlights the company’s desire to monopolize the artificial intelligence experience within its digital ecosystem.
In turn, a company spokesperson explained to "TechCrunch" that the volume of messages containing AI-supported components "is increasing at a pace that exceeds the current infrastructure's capacity to accommodate it."
Escalating competition
Analysts believe that the decision is not only based on technical reasons, but it also reflects the race to control the AI market among major companies, especially since Meta has been working since the beginning of this year on developing its own "superintelligence" labs, attracting experts from competing companies like "OpenAI."
In any case, beginning in 2026, companies relying on "WhatsApp" to operate smart chatbots will be forced to look for alternative platforms or shift their services to models directed at businesses and institutions, while users will gradually notice a decline in the availability of AI robots on "WhatsApp" before the ban comes into effect at the start of next year.
