HomeEU moves to break impasse as ChatGPT returns to Europe with GPT-5.5 via WhatsApp
After a six-month ban, OpenAI's ChatGPT officially returned to WhatsApp in Europe on July 13, 2026. The comeback was made possible by strong intervention from the European Commission, though the service is currently limited to the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the 27 EU member states, plus Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway.
A Simple, Registration-Free Multimodal Experience
Users in Europe can now interact with this chatbot directly using their verified official phone number 1-800-CHATGPT (+1-800-242-8478), without needing to register for an OpenAI account. The service supports highly flexible multimodal features, including multilingual text prompts, image uploads, voice messages, and image generation. For a more seamless experience, users can also link their WhatsApp account with their ChatGPT account, enabling full context reading and message history synchronization.
Possibly Powered by New GPT-5.5 and gpt-image-2
As for model details, the bot claims to run on the GPT-5.5 model. Additionally, its extremely high speed and accuracy in image generation have led the public to suspect that image generation requests are routed to the new gpt-image-2 model. However, it remains unclear whether OpenAI imposes usage restrictions when users do not link personal accounts, or if it quietly downgrades to a cheaper older model in the background.
EU "Interim Measures" Break Meta's Wall
This return is a direct result of competition among major companies. As early as January 15, 2026, Meta revised its business rules, publicly banning ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Perplexity from WhatsApp, leaving only Meta's own AI assistant on the platform. This behavior, suspected of being monopolistic, immediately drew regulatory attention. In June 2026, the European Commission issued "interim measures" orders, forcing Meta to allow competing AI services to relaunch for free.
At the same time, while returning to WhatsApp in the European market thanks to policy support, OpenAI is also actively expanding to other regional third-party social platforms — currently, ChatGPT is available on Kakao Messenger in South Korea and on Viber in some markets.
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After a six-month ban, OpenAI's ChatGPT officially returned to WhatsApp in Europe on July 13, 2026. The comeback was made possible by strong intervention from the European Commission, though the service is currently limited to the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes the 27 EU member states, plus Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway.
A Simple, Registration-Free Multimodal Experience
Users in Europe can now interact with this chatbot directly using their verified official phone number 1-800-CHATGPT (+1-800-242-8478), without needing to register for an OpenAI account. The service supports highly flexible multimodal features, including multilingual text prompts, image uploads, voice messages, and image generation. For a more seamless experience, users can also link their WhatsApp account with their ChatGPT account, enabling full context reading and message history synchronization.
Possibly Powered by New GPT-5.5 and gpt-image-2
As for model details, the bot claims to run on the GPT-5.5 model. Additionally, its extremely high speed and accuracy in image generation have led the public to suspect that image generation requests are routed to the new gpt-image-2 model. However, it remains unclear whether OpenAI imposes usage restrictions when users do not link personal accounts, or if it quietly downgrades to a cheaper older model in the background.
EU "Interim Measures" Break Meta's Wall
This return is a direct result of competition among major companies. As early as January 15, 2026, Meta revised its business rules, publicly banning ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot, and Perplexity from WhatsApp, leaving only Meta's own AI assistant on the platform. This behavior, suspected of being monopolistic, immediately drew regulatory attention. In June 2026, the European Commission issued "interim measures" orders, forcing Meta to allow competing AI services to relaunch for free.
At the same time, while returning to WhatsApp in the European market thanks to policy support, OpenAI is also actively expanding to other regional third-party social platforms — currently, ChatGPT is available on Kakao Messenger in South Korea and on Viber in some markets.
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