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Meta to Charge for AI Chatbot Use on WhatsApp in Italy
Meta will begin charging developers for running AI chatbots on WhatsApp in Italy, starting February 16, following a mandate from the country's competition watchdog. The move comes after Meta's ban on third-party chatbots on WhatsApp took effect on January 15, according to TechCrunch.
The new pricing structure will charge developers per message for AI responses. Meta plans to charge 0.0691, 0.0572, and 0.0498 per message, potentially leading to substantial costs for developers if users engage in extensive interactions with AI chatbots, TechCrunch reported. Earlier in February, Meta sent notices to developers creating an exemption for Italian phone numbers.
In other AI-related news, YouTube has begun removing AI-generated "slop" channels from its platform. According to The Verge, YouTube took down two of the most popular AI slop channels, including CuentosFacianantes, which had amassed over 5.9 million subscribers and 1.2 billion views. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan stated the platform plans to reduce the spread of low-quality AI content.
Meanwhile, AI data-labeling startup Handshake acquired data label-auditing startup Cleanlab, TechCrunch reported. The deal, primarily an acqui-hire, brings nine Cleanlab employees, including co-founders Curtis Northcutt, Jonas Mueller, and Anish Athalye, to Handshake's research organization. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Google is also integrating AI more deeply into its Chrome browser, TechCrunch reported. The company is adding a persistent Gemini sidebar to allow users to ask questions about the current website or other open tabs. Google demoed a feature where Gemini understands multiple tabs from a single webpage as a context group.
In other tech news, Apple is requiring creator platform Patreon to move creators to its in-app purchase system for subscriptions by November 1, 2026. According to TechCrunch, the mandate impacts the 4% of creators still using Patreon's legacy billing models. Patreon stated that Apple's changing terms have made it hard for creators to build healthy, long-term businesses. Apple initially announced the subscription billing changes in 2024, setting a November 2025 deadline, threatening removal from the App Store if Patreon did not comply.
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