The European Commission on Wednesday said it intends to order Meta to reinstate rival artificial intelligence assistants on WhatsApp, escalating an antitrust investigation into whether the company abused its market position.

The move follows a supplementary charge sheet sent to Meta, in which the Commission said the company’s revised policy of charging fees for third-party AI access appeared to have the same effect as an earlier ban. Regulators said the interim measures would apply until the investigation concludes.

The Commission stated that “the revised policy seems to have the same effect of excluding third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp and thus appears at first sight to be in breach of EU competition rules”. It added that it aims “to prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition” by restoring access under the conditions that existed before 15 October 2025.

Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice-president for competition, said in a statement that “replacing the legal ban with pricing that has a similar effect does not change our preliminary view that Meta’s conduct appears to be an abuse of its dominant position”. She added that interim measures are designed to address the risk of competitors being pushed out of fast-moving markets such as AI.

Reuters reported that Meta had previously attempted to address regulatory concerns by allowing third-party AI assistants back onto WhatsApp for one year, provided they paid a fee. The company had earlier planned to block such services entirely from its WhatsApp Business platform.

Meta rejected the Commission’s position, arguing that the intervention would distort competition. A company spokesperson said “the European Commission is proposing to use its regulatory powers to enable some of the largest companies in the world to use the paid-for WhatsApp Business product for free”.

The spokesperson added that “a small bakery in France paying to use the service to take croissant orders will be picking up the tab for OpenAI”, warning that smaller businesses could bear the cost of the changes.

According to the Commission, the investigation has also been expanded to Italy in coordination with the national competition authority, broadening its scope across the European Economic Area. The regulator opened formal proceedings in December 2025 after Meta updated its terms to restrict access for third-party AI tools.

The interim measures, if imposed, would not determine the final outcome of the case but would remain in place while the Commission completes its full assessment of Meta’s conduct.

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