Italian authorities have launched an investigation into Meta over possible violations of European Union competition laws following the integration of its artificial intelligence tool, Meta AI, into the WhatsApp messaging platform.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Italy’s antitrust regulator said the probe focuses on whether Meta leveraged its dominant market position by embedding its AI assistant into WhatsApp without offering users a real choice.
“In March 2025, Meta, which holds a dominant position in the market for consumer communications apps, decided to pre-install its artificial intelligence service on the WhatsApp app,” the statement read. “In doing so, Meta may be ‘imposing’ the use of its chatbot and AI assistance services on its users.”
The authority expressed concern that this move could allow Meta to steer its vast WhatsApp user base into the growing AI services market, not through fair competition, but by preloading the tool and limiting user options.
It added, “By merging Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta could be channelling its customer base into the emerging market, not through merit-based competition, but by ‘imposing’ the availability of the two distinct services upon users, potentially harming competitors.”
Officials also warned of the potential for users to become “locked in” to the service, noting that the AI’s usefulness and relevance improve the more it is used, creating a functional dependency.
On Tuesday, inspectors from the antitrust agency, accompanied by Italy’s Financial Police, searched the offices of Meta’s Italian subsidiary as part of the investigation. The probe is being conducted in coordination with relevant departments of the European Commission.