Meta will ban rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp (www.techradar.com)

Meta will bar all third‑party general‑purpose AI chatbots from WhatsApp starting January 15, 2026. An update to the WhatsApp Business API policy prohibits developers of “large language models, generative AI platforms, or general‑purpose AI assistants” from connecting to the platform — meaning ChatGPT, Perplexity and similar systems must leave the app. Meta frames the move as an infrastructure decision, but the practical outcome is that Meta AI will be the only native assistant inside WhatsApp’s 3+ billion‑user ecosystem, Instagram and Messenger. For the AI/ML community this is major: it consolidates user interactions and training data into Meta’s pipeline, strengthening personalization and ad targeting while narrowing distribution channels for competitors. The ban affects developer access to a critical messaging API and pushes users toward standalone apps or websites for non‑Meta assistants; business uses of AI via the Business API (banks, airlines, shops) appear to be exempt, creating a gray line between transactional and “general‑purpose” bots. The policy’s broad language gives Meta discretion to define what counts as competitive AI, potentially shaping future market access. In short, this is a strategic platform lock‑in move with significant implications for model deployment, data access, and competition in conversational AI.