ChatGPT, Copilot forced off WhatsApp as Meta enforces new AI restrictions
This decision marks one of the most aggressive moves yet by a major tech platform to limit third-party AI tools.
Meta has ordered the removal of popular AI assistants, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, from WhatsApp beginning January 15, 2026.
This decision marks one of the most aggressive moves yet by a major tech platform to limit third-party AI tools.
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WhatsApp’s updated Business API rules, quietly introduced months ago, explicitly prohibit “general-purpose conversational AI bots”.
While customer-support automations remain welcome, WhatsApp says that free-roaming assistants, capable of answering any kind of question, were never part of the platform’s design.
Companies offering such bots were informed that the service would be blocked within months.
OpenAI and Microsoft have since confirmed that their WhatsApp integrations will wind down on the deadline.
Why Meta says these bots had to go
According to people familiar with the policy rollout, Meta’s internal reasoning rests on several pillars:
Platform strain: High-traffic AI chatbots reportedly generated message spikes that placed a heavy load on WhatsApp’s network, which was designed for human-to-human messaging rather than constant automated replies.
Product boundaries: Meta has argued that the Business API exists to support customer communication for businesses, not to serve as a distribution channel for stand-alone AI assistants.
Ecosystem consistency: By confining bots to business-oriented tasks, WhatsApp aims to keep its environment predictable and avoid fragmentation caused by dozens of third-party AI personalities.
Meta has been heavily promoting Meta AI, its own in-house assistant available across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
By excluding competitors from the platform, Meta ensures that its assistant faces far less friction in reaching billions of users.
Some analysts note that messaging apps are emerging as the preferred access point for AI tools, making control over that channel a powerful competitive advantage.
For the millions who rely on ChatGPT or Copilot inside WhatsApp, the shutdown will be noticeable:
ChatGPT users can link their WhatsApp number to an OpenAI account to preserve chat history before the removal.
Copilot users will not have automated transfer options, since the WhatsApp version was not tied to Microsoft accounts; chats must be exported manually.
After January 15, both bots will cease responding on WhatsApp, and their numbers will go dark.
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