Microsoft’s AI chatbot Copilot leaves WhatsApp on January 15 (techcrunch.com)

Microsoft announced its Copilot chatbot will stop working on WhatsApp after January 15, so users who want to keep using Copilot will need to switch to Microsoft’s Copilot mobile apps or the web interface. The change follows WhatsApp/Meta’s decision to block general-purpose AI chatbots from using the WhatsApp Business API, reallocating that API access to other types of businesses. OpenAI and other chatbot providers had already signaled similar wind-downs. Because Copilot on WhatsApp relied on unauthenticated sessions, chat histories won’t automatically transfer to Microsoft’s platform; Microsoft recommends exporting conversations with WhatsApp’s built-in tools before the deadline. For the AI/ML community, this is a notable distribution and policy shift: platform-level restrictions on the Business API remove a major channel for reaching users, forcing providers to rely on native apps or web deployment instead. Practically, it reduces discoverability and adds friction (authentication, account linking, data portability) for chat-based services. Technically, the move underscores two issues—platform governance over API usage (what counts as “general-purpose” AI) and the importance of authenticated integrations for preserving user data and continuity. Companies offering conversational AI will need to rework distribution, authentication, and migration strategies to avoid user drop-off and fragmentation.