Meta-owned WhatsApp has announced a significant change to its business API policy, banning general-purpose chatbots from its platform, effective January 15, 2026. This decision will impact AI providers such as OpenAI and Perplexity, which have previously utilized WhatsApp to reach its vast user base of over 3 billion. The rationale behind this move is to ensure that WhatsApp's API remains focused on facilitating customer service and relevant updates for businesses, rather than serving as a distribution platform for AI assistants. Meta has noted that the increased message volume generated by these chatbots has placed an unexpected burden on its systems. Additionally, the company aims to enhance its revenue from business messaging, which is a key growth area for WhatsApp. By restricting general-purpose chatbots, Meta is positioning its own AI solutions as the primary option available on the platform.