My Facebook account had been locked for a couple of months. To recover it, I used ChatGPT and Gemini throughout the correspondence: to reach support, write messages and eventually solve a rather absurd language problem.
It started when I shared my store’s link on Facebook. About five seconds later, the account was blocked. I still do not know why. I only know that I posted the link and the account was locked immediately afterwards.
I finally reached a person through Instagram
I could not contact support through Facebook. I could access Instagram, but initially could not reach support there either. After the account had been locked for a couple of months, I took out a paid Instagram subscription. That gave me access to support through Instagram.
At first, I felt a bot was responding. With ChatGPT and Gemini, I worked through what to write and how to follow up until I could speak with a person. That was when progress began.
Both AI tools helped throughout the correspondence. I discussed replies, tone and how to explain my situation. It was far more than one message: there were conversations, evidence and screenshots. The active process eventually took more than half a day.
ChatGPT suggested explaining the interrupted advertising
An important suggestion came from ChatGPT: explain how the account closure affects your business. I had advertising in progress and wanted to continue advertising and paying Meta. That reflected my situation, and we made it clear in the correspondence.
I was then directed to advertising support, where they continued working on the account issue. I do not know exactly what influenced Meta’s decisions, but this approach moved my case forward.
Without ChatGPT’s suggestion, I probably would not have started with the advertising and business disruption. From my perspective, my Facebook account was simply locked and I wanted it back.
Half an hour of trying, then a simple suggestion from Gemini
The strangest part involved a screenshot. Support asked for the message shown when I tried opening the blocked account. I sent it and pointed out that the text was Estonian. They said not to worry because their staff understood different languages.
I was then transferred to another staff member who said they did not understand that language and asked for a screenshot in English.
How could I change it to English when I could not sign in or access Facebook’s settings? I tried an incognito window, another computer and my phone. The message remained in Estonian.
After about half an hour, I asked Gemini what to do. It suggested the browser’s ‘Translate Page’ command. I translated the page into English, took a new screenshot and sent it to support. They accepted it, and we could finally continue.
I eventually recovered the account. It took substantial correspondence and evidence, and ChatGPT and Gemini helped me past several obstacles. That was AI’s value here: when I no longer knew what to do or how to phrase something, they helped me move forward.
More of my AI experiments: migrating websites with Codex and turning an image into a 3D room.