# ChatGPT left WhatsApp outside the EEA: what works now > Since 15 January 2026, 1-800-ChatGPT no longer answers on WhatsApp outside the EEA. It never could read your other chats anyway. Here is what happened, what still works, and how to let ChatGPT or Claude read the WhatsApp chats you choose. **ChatGPT left WhatsApp on 15 January 2026**, when Meta's Business Solution terms began barring general-purpose AI assistants; it returned in the EEA only, on 13 July 2026, after an EU order. To let ChatGPT or Claude read your own WhatsApp, connect it to **Circles**, a hosted WhatsApp MCP for your personal number: paste one address, approve, and choose the chats. Plans are Free, Starter at $9.90 and Pro at $29 a month, as of October 2026. Source: https://usecircles.app/en/guides/chatgpt-whatsapp-alternative ยท Updated 2026-10-27 ## What changed, with dates - **Before 2026:** 1-800-ChatGPT (+1-800-242-8478) was a bot you could message in WhatsApp. You talked to ChatGPT inside a WhatsApp chat. It did not read your other chats. - **15 January 2026:** Meta's Business Solution terms started barring "AI Providers" whose primary function is a general-purpose assistant. ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity left WhatsApp. Business bots serving a company's own customers stayed allowed. - **9 June 2026:** the European Commission ordered Meta, on an interim basis, to restore access for rival assistants in the EEA. - **13 July 2026:** ChatGPT returned to WhatsApp in the EEA. Elsewhere it is still gone, as of October 2026. ## What still works - **1-800-ChatGPT**: Back in the EEA since 13 July 2026. Still a bot you message: it hears only what you send it. - **[Meta AI in WhatsApp](https://usecircles.app/en/compare/meta-ai-summaries)**: Free, optional summaries of unread messages. Your own agent cannot use it. - **[Export a chat](https://usecircles.app/en/compare/export-chat-to-chatgpt)**: Export one chat as a file and upload it to ChatGPT or Claude. Free, one-off, voice notes not transcribed. - **[Connect ChatGPT or Claude to your WhatsApp](#connect)**: With a WhatsApp MCP like Circles, the agent reads the chats you choose, live, voice notes as text. - **[Instinct](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/instinct)**: An assistant that lives in WhatsApp. With Circles it can read the chats you choose, so you ask on the fly, in a WhatsApp message. ## The idea, turned around 1-800-ChatGPT brought ChatGPT into WhatsApp as one more chat. What most people actually wanted was **ChatGPT knowing what is in their WhatsApp**. The parents group's decision, the plumber's arrival time, the PDF someone sent in June. This falls under WhatsApp's consumer terms. Meta's Business terms do not apply to it. A WhatsApp MCP server links your personal number as a linked device, like WhatsApp Web, and serves the chats you choose to the agent where you already use it: ChatGPT on the web or phone, Claude, Codex. Circles is a hosted one. ## How to let ChatGPT or Claude read your WhatsApp now 1. **Link your WhatsApp to Circles**: Sign up and link your number from your phone with a code or a QR, under *Linked devices*. Same number, same app. History arrives in about 5 to 15 minutes. 2. **Add Circles to ChatGPT or Claude**: In ChatGPT, add a custom connector (MCP server) with the address `https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp`. In Claude, add it as a custom connector in Settings. The apps change their menus often; each shows its current steps. 3. **Approve on Circles' page**: Circles asks you to approve. Sending starts ticked on the approval page; untick it to connect a reader. Even with it, the agent sends only in chats you opened for sending. 4. **Ask**: "What did the parents group decide about Thursday?" "Find the invoice Avi sent in June." The agent reads the chats you left open, voice notes included as text. Plans: as of October 2026, ChatGPT custom connectors (developer mode) need a paid ChatGPT plan, and Claude custom connectors need a paid Claude plan. Circles comes on top: Free, Starter $9.90 or Pro $29 a month, with 14 days of Pro free. Step by step: [ChatGPT](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/chatgpt), [Claude](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/claude). ## What the agent can and cannot see Each chat is hidden, read, or read and send. A hidden chat does not exist for the agent: not listed, not searchable, never named. Sending is off until you open a chat for it, with a daily cap across all agents (default 5), and a send is never retried automatically. Every request is in your activity log, and you can disconnect at any time. The honest part: 1-800-ChatGPT was a Business Platform bot. Circles connects as an unofficial linked device, which WhatsApp's terms do not authorise. It reads by default, caps sends and never broadcasts. No one can promise WhatsApp will never disconnect a device. [More on security](https://usecircles.app/en/security). ## Questions and answers ### Why did ChatGPT stop working on WhatsApp? From 15 January 2026, Meta's WhatsApp Business Solution terms bar general-purpose AI assistants, so OpenAI's 1-800-ChatGPT left. It returned in the EEA on 13 July 2026 after an EU order. ### Is 1-800-ChatGPT back? In the EEA, yes, since 13 July 2026. Outside the EEA it is still unavailable, as of October 2026. ### Could 1-800-ChatGPT read my WhatsApp chats? No. It was a bot you messaged, and it only saw what you sent it. To let ChatGPT read your own chats, connect it to a WhatsApp MCP such as Circles. ### How do I connect ChatGPT to my WhatsApp now? Link your number in Circles, add `https://app.usecircles.app/api/mcp` to ChatGPT as a custom connector, and approve on Circles' page. ChatGPT then reads the chats you choose. Circles has a Free plan, and Pro is $29 a month. ### Can Claude read my WhatsApp? Yes, with Circles. Add Circles as a custom connector in Claude with one address and approve; it works in Claude on the web, desktop and phone. ### Is there a free alternative? Exporting a chat and uploading it to ChatGPT or Claude is free, and Meta AI's summaries are built into WhatsApp. Neither lets your agent read your chats live. Circles has a Free plan for 2 chats. ## Sources Competitor facts as seen on 27 October 2026 unless another date is given. Prices change often in this category: check the vendor's own page before you buy. - [techcrunch.com/2025/10/18/whatssapp-changes-its-terms-to-bar-general-purpose-chatbots-from-its-platform](https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/18/whatssapp-changes-its-terms-to-bar-general-purpose-chatbots-from-its-platform) - [respond.io/blog/whatsapp-general-purpose-chatbots-ban](https://respond.io/blog/whatsapp-general-purpose-chatbots-ban) - [engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-in-whatsapp-will-stop-working-in-january-161335173.html](https://engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-in-whatsapp-will-stop-working-in-january-161335173.html) - [engadget.com/2191213/eu-orders-meta-to-stop-blocking-rival-ai-chatbots-on-whatsapp](https://engadget.com/2191213/eu-orders-meta-to-stop-blocking-rival-ai-chatbots-on-whatsapp) - [the-decoder.com/chatgpt-returns-to-whatsapp-in-europe-after-eu-forces-meta-to-open-the-door-to-rival-ai-bots/](https://the-decoder.com/chatgpt-returns-to-whatsapp-in-europe-after-eu-forces-meta-to-open-the-door-to-rival-ai-bots/) - [awesomeclaude.ai/how-to/use-whatsapp-with-claude](https://awesomeclaude.ai/how-to/use-whatsapp-with-claude) - [9to5mac.com/2026/04/21/whatsapp-testing-multi-chat-ai-summaries-for-unread-messages/](https://9to5mac.com/2026/04/21/whatsapp-testing-multi-chat-ai-summaries-for-unread-messages/) ## Keep reading - [Connect ChatGPT](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/chatgpt): One address and an approval. - [Connect Claude](https://usecircles.app/en/agents/claude): Web, desktop and phone. - [Why not the Business API?](https://usecircles.app/en/compare/whatsapp-business-api): Official, for business numbers only. --- 14 days free. Link your number, pick the chats, then connect Instinct with one tap or Claude, ChatGPT and Codex with one address. Start: https://usecircles.app/start?lang=en