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Microsoft's AI assistant, Copilot, will permanently cease functioning on the WhatsApp platform starting 15 January 2026. This move, which impacts millions of users who adopted the chatbot since its late 2024 launch, comes as a direct consequence of a platform policy update by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp. The updated policy effectively bans all general-purpose Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots from using the WhatsApp Business API.
The Meta-owned platform is tightening its rules to prioritise the Business API for specific, customer service-oriented uses, such as bookings, sales, or order tracking, rather than serving as a distribution channel for open-domain conversational assistants like Copilot, ChatGPT, and Perplexity AI, which are also affected by the ban.This decision marks a significant shift, limiting user choice and consolidating AI interactions around Meta's own products, such as Meta AI. While businesses can still use AI tools for specific customer support workflows, external, multipurpose AI services are being blocked.
The Jan 15 deadline: Transition and data loss
Users relying on Copilot within WhatsApp have a firm deadline: the service will stop working entirely on 15 January 2026. Microsoft is focused on ensuring a smooth transition for its user base to its proprietary platforms.
The most critical issue for users involves their conversation history.Since the WhatsApp version of Copilot operated without user authentication, Microsoft cannot automatically sync or transfer your chat history to the dedicated Copilot app or website.
Users who want to retain their conversations for future reference must manually export their chat history using WhatsApp’s built-in export tools before the deadline. Any conversations not exported will be permanently lost once the integration shuts down.
Where to find copilot after the shutdown
The discontinuation of the WhatsApp channel does not affect Copilot's availability on its dedicated platforms. Microsoft encourages users to migrate to the following surfaces, which offer all core features and often include more advanced capabilities not supported by the former WhatsApp integration:
Copilot mobile app; available for both iOS and Android.
Copilot on the web; accessible via copilot.microsoft.com
Copilot on Windows, which is available directly within the operating system.
These dedicated experiences provide features such as Copilot Voice for conversational queries, Vision for image analysis, and Mico (a companion presence), functionalities that were difficult or impossible to support via the restricted WhatsApp messaging interface.Accessing Copilot on these platforms remains largely free of cost, although certain advanced features may require a subscription or be subject to usage limits.
Implications for the AI landscape
The exit of Copilot and other general-purpose LLMs from the world's largest messaging platform reflects a growing trend among major tech companies to control the AI experience within their walled ecosystems.Similar to how Google integrates Gemini across its Workspace, Meta is trying to consolidate its AI efforts around Meta AI within its messaging apps.
This policy change essentially ends the use of WhatsApp as a distribution and testing channel for competing AI developers like Microsoft and OpenAI. Users lose the convenience of accessing a general-purpose AI assistant within their primary messaging application, necessitating a switch to dedicated, standalone apps. The change may lead to a more fragmented AI market where users must rely on different platforms for different AI assistants, reducing the previous flexibility offered by the widely accessible WhatsApp API.