Microsoft has communicated that its AI-powered chatbot, Copilot, will be discontinued within WhatsApp following January 15th. After this cutoff date, engaging with the AI directly through WhatsApp will no longer be an option unless users transition to Microsoft’s dedicated Copilot mobile applications or access the bot via a web browser interface.
The rationale provided by the company attributes this removal from the widely used messaging app to revised platform guidelines for WhatsApp, which were made public last month. At that time, Meta, the proprietor of WhatsApp, stated its intention to cease support for broad-based AI chatbots utilizing the WhatsApp Business API for customer support functions. Instead, Meta has opted to allocate these resources toward different categories of business applications.
This alteration does not prohibit organizations from leveraging AI for client assistance; however, it effectively eliminates WhatsApp’s viability as a distribution channel for AI-driven chatbots. This impacts various entities, including Microsoft, OpenAI, Perplexity, among others.
OpenAI has separately confirmed its schedule to discontinue its WhatsApp integration during January.
For Copilot users on WhatsApp, it is crucial to be aware that their conversation histories will not be carried over when migrating to Microsoft’s platform, a consequence of the unauthenticated access method utilized for the chatbot within WhatsApp. Microsoft advises any user needing to preserve their dialogue records to utilize WhatsApp’s native export functionalities before the January 15th deadline.
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