The Scenario Where ChatGPT’s WhatsApp Gateway Was Useful: Airplane Wi-Fi

Yours truly on Friday, regarding the news that Meta is going to ban rival AI chatbots from WhatsApp:

Perhaps because I’m only a light user of WhatsApp, I had no idea that rival AI chatbots had accounts there. I just tried it with 1-800-ChatGPT and it seems pointless. It’s noticeably slower and uses an older model than just using the ChatGPT app.

A few readers have pointed to one good use case for this gateway: airplane Wi-Fi, particularly on airlines that offer “free” Wi-Fi for messaging apps like Apple Messages (iMessage) and WhatsApp. The ChatGPT app won’t work unless you pay for full Wi-Fi access on a flight, but WhatsApp does, and through January, you can interact with ChatGPT through that loophole. Clever.

Update: Similarly, these WhatsApp bot gateways are also useful in third-world countries with spotty Wi-Fi networking, but where Meta’s apps — including WhatsApp — are zero-rated against cellular network bandwidth caps. India is one prominent example. In some parts of the world, the only reliable networks are cellular, and the only “free Internet” is Meta’s suite of apps and services that are zero-rated on those cell networks.

★ Sunday, 26 October 2025