Meta ordered to keep WhatsApp open to rival AI chatbots

Italy’s move against Meta is one of the first concrete tests of how competition law will shape AI distribution, not just AI models. By forcing WhatsApp to remain open to non‑Meta chatbots, regulators are saying loud and clear that messaging platforms cannot be turned into exclusive funnels for a single company’s AI assistant. In practical terms, this keeps the door open for third‑party bots—OpenAI’s ChatGPT, smaller European providers, or specialized vertical agents—to reach users through one of the world’s most pervasive communication rails. ([newagebd.net](https://www.newagebd.net/post/telecom/286336/rome-pushes-meta-to-allow-other-ais-on-whatsapp))

For the race to AGI, distribution is almost as strategic as model quality. If Meta could have locked three‑plus billion users into Meta AI inside WhatsApp, it would have gained a huge data and feedback advantage in training increasingly general assistants. Forcing interoperability slows that consolidation and gives competitors a fighting chance to learn from real‑world usage at similar scale. The decision also previews how the EU’s Digital Markets Act will likely be applied to AI: gatekeeper platforms will be pushed toward neutrality, API access, and fair terms for rival models. That won’t stop AGI research, but it will influence who gets to ship near‑AGI capabilities to end users first—and under what constraints.