Meta Will Shut Down 1-800-ChatGPT on WhatsApp Amid AI Turf War

Meta vs. OpenAI: The battle between tech giants has taken a new turn, as Meta prepares to pull the plug on a feature that quietly became one of OpenAI’s most popular gateways – the 1-800-ChatGPT calling and messaging service on WhatsApp. OpenAI confirmed in a recent blog post that Meta’s revised platform policies will effectively disable the service on January 15, 2026, cutting off direct WhatsApp access to ChatGPT for millions of users worldwide.

The feature had grown into a simple yet powerful bridge between everyday WhatsApp users and OpenAI’s large language model.

By allowing people to call or text ChatGPT as easily as a friend, OpenAI managed to make advanced AI accessible to more than 50 million users globally. But Meta’s policy change means this familiar experience will soon vanish – and OpenAI users will need to adapt.

To soften the blow, OpenAI has outlined steps to transition smoothly. Users are encouraged to download the ChatGPT app on Android, iOS, or desktop, sign in to their accounts, and link their phone numbers by following the URL in the 1-800-ChatGPT contact profile on WhatsApp. Once linked, previous WhatsApp chat histories will still be visible in the user’s ChatGPT history, offering some continuity even after the service’s shutdown.

As for Meta’s motives, speculation abounds. Industry watchers suggest that Meta might be seeking to reduce OpenAI’s dominance on its platform, especially given the rapid rise of Meta’s own AI initiative. Over the past months, Meta has embedded its Meta AI assistant directly into WhatsApp, even integrating it into the app’s search bar to make it unavoidable. This move signals Meta’s desire to keep its ecosystem centered on in-house technology – and perhaps limit competitors like OpenAI from flourishing within it.

Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to expand its ecosystem in other directions. The company recently unveiled ChatGPT Atlas, a full-fledged AI browser designed to rival Google’s Chrome and Perplexity’s Comet. Currently available on macOS, Atlas promises deeper AI integration and context awareness than traditional browsers and is expected to roll out to Windows, iOS, and Android soon. With both Meta and OpenAI intensifying their efforts to define how people interact with AI daily, this latest clash may mark just the beginning of a larger platform war over user access, data, and digital influence.