Meta is opening WhatsApp to rival AI chatbot providers in Brazil, one day after making the same concession for European users. TechCrunch AI reports the move follows a ruling by Brazil’s antitrust regulator CADE, which rejected Meta’s appeal to block an earlier order requiring the company to allow third-party AI chatbots on its platform.
What CADE Decided
CADE’s tribunal found that banning third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp “would not be proportionate” and could result in competitive harm. The regulator cited the outsized role WhatsApp plays in Brazil’s instant messaging market as a key factor in its decision. Brazil is one of WhatsApp’s largest markets globally, with the app deeply embedded in daily communication for hundreds of millions of users.
The ruling is significant: it treats WhatsApp not just as a messaging app, but as critical infrastructure for digital services, including AI.
Meta’s Response: Comply, but Charge
Meta isn’t simply complying for free. The company confirmed it will allow third-party AI chatbot providers to access its WhatsApp Business API wherever legally required, but it’s attaching a price tag. Starting March 11, developers will pay $0.0625 per non-template message in Brazil.
“Where we are legally required to provide AI chatbots through the WhatsApp Business API, we are introducing pricing for the companies that choose to use our platform to provide those services,” a Meta spokesperson said.
This pricing structure matters. Meta’s own AI chatbot, Meta AI, lives inside WhatsApp for free. Third-party competitors now face a cost-per-message toll to reach the same users. That asymmetry is already drawing skepticism.
Developers Are Cautious
Even with the regulatory win, developers are not rushing back. According to TechCrunch AI, several developers say Meta’s pricing is high enough to make WhatsApp-based AI services economically risky. At $0.0625 per message, a chatbot handling thousands of daily conversations could quickly rack up significant costs.
Zapia, one of the companies that originally filed the complaint with CADE, welcomed the ruling but framed it as just one battle in a larger campaign. “Competition and preventing powerful companies from limiting how innovation reaches users,” Zapia said in a statement, adding that it plans to “continue challenging these restrictions across the rest of Latin America.”
Why This Matters
Meta originally announced its policy to restrict third-party AI chatbots on WhatsApp back in October 2024, citing system strain and the argument that WhatsApp’s Business API was never designed for AI chatbot use. What followed was a cascade of antitrust investigations across multiple jurisdictions.
The pattern is now clear: regulators in Europe and Brazil are treating WhatsApp’s scale as a reason to impose access obligations, not just standard consumer protections. If this regulatory logic spreads to other markets where WhatsApp dominates, Meta could face similar requirements across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
For the AI industry, the bigger question is whether forced access through expensive APIs is meaningful openness at all. A platform that technically allows rivals but prices them into thin margins may achieve regulatory compliance without delivering real competition.
For more on this story, see the full report at TechCrunch AI.