It's one of the oldest tricks in the book. If your product is not doing nearly as well, seek to bring down your competitors as well. And, this is exactly what Meta appears to be doing by disabling a WhatsApp feature used to access OpenAI's ChatGPT AI model.
OpenAI: After January 15, 2026, 1-800-ChatGPT will no longer be available on WhatsApp
In a newly published blog, OpenAI has noted that Meta has changed its policies, which will shutter some of its services available on WhatsApp, come January 15, 2026.
Specifically, OpenAI says its 1-800-ChatGPT facility for WhatsApp is all set to expire on that date. This facility allowed users to access the ChatGPT LLM via a simple call or message, with 50 million people around the globe using this simple interface.
Here is what OpenAI is now recommending:
- . Download the ChatGPT app on Android, iOS, or desktop.
2. Create a ChatGPT account and sign in.
3. Link your account with WhatsApp: Go to the 1-800-ChatGPT’s contact profile in WhatsApp and click the URL there.
The startup goes on to note:
"Once linked, your phone number will be associated with your ChatGPT account, and your past WhatsApp conversations will appear in your ChatGPT history."
As for Meta's raison d'être behind this move, it might have been rankled by the facility's popularity, feeling that its own Llama LLMs deserved greater prominence on its platforms. After all, Meta has done quiet a lot in recent months to push its "Meta AI" on WhatsApp, going so far as to place it within the search bar in the app.
This comes as OpenAI recently took on Google's Chrome and Perplexity's Comet by launching a dedicated AI browser called ChatGPT Atlas. While the browser is only available on macOS for now, it is soon expected to debut on Windows, iOS, and Android.
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