Italy’s antitrust authority announced on Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into Meta Platforms over allegations of abusing its market dominance by integrating its artificial intelligence assistant into WhatsApp.

The regulator said Meta may have breached European Union competition laws by deploying the Meta AI tool on WhatsApp without obtaining user consent—a move that could potentially disadvantage rival services.

Meta said it is cooperating with the Rome-based antitrust authority and maintains that its AI service provides value to users.

“Offering free access to our AI features in WhatsApp gives millions of Italians the choice to use AI in a place they already know, trust and understand,” a spokesperson said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The AGCM stated that it launched the probe “in close cooperation with the relevant offices of the European Commission.”

According to regulator, Meta AI—which offers chatbot-style responses and virtual assistant features—has been integrated into WhatsApp’s interface since March 2025, appearing in the app’s search bar.

The AGCM warned that the integration could unfairly steer users toward Meta’s AI services, potentially harming competitors and limiting user choice by locking them into the platform.

“By pairing Meta AI with WhatsApp, Meta appears to be able to steer its user base into the new market not through merit-based competition, but by ‘forcing’ users to accept the availability of two distinct services, potentially harming competing services”, the authority said.

Under EU competition law, companies found guilty of abusing a dominant market position can face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover.