Home / Business and Economy / Meta Opens WhatsApp to Rival AI for a Fee in Brazil
Meta Opens WhatsApp to Rival AI for a Fee in Brazil
6 Mar
Summary
- Meta will charge rivals to offer AI chatbots on WhatsApp.
- Brazil's regulator ruled against Meta's initial policy.
- The fee is $0.0625 per non-template message starting March 11.
Meta has decided to allow rival AI companies to offer their chatbots on WhatsApp to users in Brazil, for a fee. This move comes after Brazil's antitrust regulator, CADE, ruled against Meta and rejected its appeal to block a previous order. The regulator cited WhatsApp's significant market share in instant messaging, stating that banning third-party AI chatbots would be disproportionate and could harm competition.
As a result, Meta will now permit third-party AI chatbot providers to use its WhatsApp Business API. The company announced it will charge $0.0625 per non-template message, effective March 11, in regions where Meta is legally obligated to provide this access. This policy change, initially announced last October, faced scrutiny due to Meta's own AI offering, Meta AI, within WhatsApp.
Developers have expressed hesitation regarding Meta's pricing, deeming it potentially too high and costly for users. This situation highlights ongoing regulatory challenges and evolving dynamics in the AI chatbot market within major messaging platforms.
