Meta Platforms said it will allow competing artificial intelligence chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe for the next 12 months, a move aimed at addressing concerns raised by EU antitrust regulators investigating potential competition issues.

The company reportedly told the European Commission it will permit third-party AI chatbots to access WhatsApp through the platform’s Business API for a fee. Meta had previously restricted chatbot access beginning January 15, allowing only its own Meta AI assistant on the messaging service.

“For the next 12 months, we’ll support general-purpose AI chatbots using the WhatsApp Business API in Europe in response to the European Commission’s regulatory process,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We believe that this removes the need for any immediate intervention, as it gives the European Commission the time it needs to conclude its investigation.”

The European Commission said it is assessing whether Meta’s proposal addresses concerns tied to a broader antitrust probe and whether it justifies potential interim measures aimed at preventing harm to competing AI providers.

Regulators began examining the issue after complaints that Meta had excluded rival chatbots from WhatsApp. Italy’s competition authority previously ordered Meta to allow such services, prompting the company to reopen access there earlier this year while the investigation continues.

Meta has argued that the growth of AI chatbot services increases strain on its infrastructure and that developers have multiple alternative channels to reach users, including app stores, search engines, and operating systems.

Critics remain skeptical of the company’s proposal. Marvin von Hagen, CEO of the California-based Interaction Company and developer of the Poke.com AI assistant, said the changes do not resolve the competitive concerns.

“What Meta presents as good-faith compliance is in reality the opposite. The company is now introducing vexatious pricing for AI providers that makes it just as impossible to operate on WhatsApp as the outright ban did,” he said.

Meta said similar policy adjustments will also apply in Brazil after a court reinstated an injunction linked to a separate antitrust investigation in the country.