Tutorials
How to automate WhatsApp customer service without breaking Meta's 2026 rules
A practical guide to what Meta allows and bans for AI bots on WhatsApp Business, and how it affects those using tools like Evolution API.
[{"h":"What Meta bans","p":"Since January 2026, Meta has banned general-purpose chatbots on the WhatsApp Business Platform — that is, bots offering open-ended, assistant-style conversations similar to ChatGPT or Perplexity, without a defined business task."},{"h":"What is still allowed","p":"Structured bots remain allowed: scoped customer service, bookings, order tracking, notifications and sales — as long as the bot performs concrete business tasks, like answering a support question or scheduling an appointment, rather than chatting freely about anything."},{"h":"In practice, for those automating","p":"For SMBs using tools like Evolution API (an open-source alternative that emulates WhatsApp Web without relying on Meta's official API) combined with n8n automation, the recommendation is to design the bot flow around specific tasks — not an open-ended conversation with the customer — to stay within the current rules."}]