WhatsApp Bans General Purpose Chatbots

Lloyd
WhatsApp Bans General Purpose Chatbots
WhatsApp Changes Its Terms To Bar General Purpose Chatbots From Its Platform Meta’s messaging giant, WhatsApp , has officially updated its Business API policy — and the new terms are clear: WhatsApp changes its terms to bar general purpose chatbots from its platform . This marks a significant shift for AI companies that have been building chat-based assistants on WhatsApp, such as OpenAI, Perplexity, Luzia, and Poke. Image Credits:Unsplash / Alexander Shatov New WhatsApp Terms Target AI Providers The updated policy introduces a new section addressing “AI providers.” These changes, effective January 15, 2026 , prohibit the use of WhatsApp Business Solutions for distributing general-purpose chatbots . Meta now explicitly bans developers or providers of artificial intelligence or machine learning technologies — including large language models and generative AI assistants — from using WhatsApp’s Business API when the AI is the primary feature of the service. In Meta’s own words, “AI providers are s…