ChatGPT and Copilot are being booted out of WhatsApp
The Meta messaging app’s new terms prohibit rival AI chatbots.
The Meta messaging app’s new terms prohibit rival AI chatbots.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot are both leaving WhatsApp thanks to upcoming changes to the messaging app’s terms of service that will prohibit using it to distribute AI chatbots not made by Meta.
OpenAIannounced its planned departure a few weeks ago, with Microsoftfollowing it this week. Both companies attributed the departures to Meta’s new terms of service for WhatsApp Business Solution, which come into effect on January 15th, 2026, and said the chatbots will remain accessible in WhatsApp until that date. ChatGPT users can link their accounts to WhatsApp to make sure their chat history carries over, though Copilot users won’t have that option.
WhatsApp announced the update toits terms in October, banning AI companies from using its business API as a distribution platform for chatbots. Other companies will still be permitted to use WhatsApp for customer service or support chatbots, with the terms only prohibiting cases where the AI itself is the product — a simple way of stopping Meta’s AI rivals using its own platform to reach customers.
“The purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates,” an anonymous Meta spokesperson toldTechCrunch at the time. “Our focus is on supporting the tens of thousands of businesses who are building these experiences on WhatsApp.”
The change means that other third-party AI chatbots, including Perplexity, are likely to announce departures from WhatsApp soon, leavingMeta AI the only option available from next January.
- Dominic Preston
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