About half a year ago, Meta blocked chatbots from third-party providers from Whatsapp. The European Commission then decided on interim measures against Meta in June 2026. As Focus Online reports, citing information from OpenAI, ChatGPT can now be reached again via Messenger.
This is how ChatGPT works via Whatsapp
Whatsapp is the most used messaging service in Germany. According to a WDR report, around 60 million people in this country use the app every day, which corresponds to around 80 percent of all internet users. Many have also used Messenger to communicate with ChatGPT in a roundabout way. According to OpenAI, this affected 50 million users worldwide. As T-Online reports, Meta had changed the conditions of its WhatsApp business interface and excluded chatbots from other providers as of January 15, 2026.
In addition to ChatGPT, this decision also affected services such as Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. Only Meta AI, the group’s in-house AI service, was accessible via WhatsApp. After the European Commission obliged Meta to grant third-party access to the WhatsApp interface again, ChatGPT is now available again. The EU Commission justified this step by saying that Meta would otherwise have been able to decide on its own which AI services reach messenger users.
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To communicate with ChatGPT via WhatsApp, users must save the number +1-800-242-8478. According to OpenAI, the contact can be used to send text messages and images directly to ChatGPT, use voice messages and generate images. A separate user account is not required, but anyone who links the chat to an existing ChatGPT account will receive higher usage limits. The activation takes place gradually according to the country code of the respective WhatsApp number.
But there is also a catch: Unlike contact with human users, OpenAI points out that all conversations are saved and linked to the respective WhatsApp number. To ensure data protection and prevent misuse, this content could be checked for a limited period of time. Users are therefore expressly warned not to share sensitive information such as passwords or health data in the chat.
Meta wants to take action against the decision
The interim measures apply until the antitrust proceedings are completed. In the event of a violation, Meta faces fines of up to ten percent of its global annual turnover. The case shows how strongly regulatory requirements can influence competition and the integration of AI services. For companies that already use AI tools in messenger services, the effort required to manage both technical access and regulatory requirements increases. Meta does not agree with the EU Commission’s decision. The tech company has already announced that it will take action against the measures.
