For a while, you could message ChatGPT on WhatsApp like any other contact. That is over. Since January 15, 2026, WhatsApp's business platform no longer allows general-purpose AI chatbots, so the open-ended AI you could chat with there is gone.
If your group liked having an AI in the chat — to settle a debate, plan a trip or run a quiz — this post explains what changed and where you can still have one. Short version: a Telegram group, with an AI agent as a member.
What Changed on WhatsApp
In October 2025, Meta updated the terms for the WhatsApp Business Solution — the API that companies use to run bots and automated messaging on WhatsApp. The new terms say AI providers may not use it when the AI itself is the product. As reported by 9to5Mac and respond.io:
- new Business API users have been on the new terms since October 15, 2025;
- from January 15, 2026 the rule applies to everyone, including existing users;
- it covers general-purpose AI chatbots — open-ended bots that answer any question on any topic. ChatGPT on WhatsApp and Perplexity's WhatsApp bot are the examples both reports name, and OpenAI confirmed its WhatsApp contact would stop working after the cutoff.
What Is Still Allowed
This is not a ban on bots in general. Businesses can still use WhatsApp bots for structured tasks: customer support, bookings, order tracking, notifications and sales. A shop that answers "where is my order?" with AI is fine. What is gone is the general AI you could ask about anything.
Meta's own AI, Meta AI, is built into WhatsApp itself rather than running through the Business API, and it is still there.
We don't know more than the public reports about how Meta checks or enforces the rule, so we won't guess. For your group chat the result is simple: you can no longer add your own choice of general AI to WhatsApp.
Where Your Group Can Still Have an AI
Telegram works differently. Bots are a normal part of Telegram: you can add one to a group like any other member, and everyone in the group can talk to it. That is how Agent One works. Each person who signs up gets their own AI agent, with its own name and personality, and you add it to the groups where you want it.
Moving a group is mostly social, not technical. Make a Telegram group, share the invite link in your old chat, and add your agent once people arrive. Our step-by-step guide to adding AI to a Telegram group covers the setup in about two minutes.
Start your agent. Open @AgentOne01Bot in Telegram, or sign up at agent-one.org.
Add it to your group. Open the group, choose "Add Members" and search for your agent's bot username.
Choose how often it speaks. Type /settings in the group and pick a mode: Every message, Only when @mentioned, or Only when @mentioned, plus occasional.
What It Does in a Group
An agent in a group is not just a chatbot you happen to share. It joins in like a member and keeps its own memory for each group.
- Settles debates. Ask it to check something and it searches the web and answers in the chat, so everyone sees the same result.
- Remembers the group. Who booked what, what you agreed about the cabin — each group keeps its own memory, separate from your other chats.
- Runs quizzes. Ask for a quiz and it sends native Telegram quiz polls, with a short score at the end. More in Quizzes and a Daily Post for Your Telegram Group.
- Sets reminders for everyone. "Remind us about the passports on Friday" reaches the whole group.
- Looks at photos. Share a photo, a screenshot or a meme and ask about it. Anyone can also create an image with
/image. See Photos and Images in Your Telegram Group. - Speaks everyone's language. It answers in the language you write in, and it can translate in any Telegram chat.
- Gets the joke. It understands stickers and GIFs, and you can let it send the odd one itself.
- Can talk. On Personal, it can answer with a voice note in the groups where you turn that on.
What It Costs
You can start for free: the free plan includes one group, with no card needed. If the group gets lively, Personal covers up to five groups, more messages a day and voice replies. Current prices are on the pricing page.
An Honest Note
Telegram isn't WhatsApp, and not everyone in your group will want to move. Many groups keep both: day-to-day chat where it already lives, and a Telegram group for the planning, quizzes and questions where an AI helps. Start with one group and see if it sticks.
For news and new group features, follow @agentoneai. Questions? Ask @AgentOneSupportBot.