My uncle lives out in the country where the internet cuts out more often than not, and he'd assumed AI tools just weren't realistic for him, figuring they needed a constant fast connection he didn't have.
What actually worked was adjusting how he used it rather than needing a better connection — keeping requests short and specific so they load fast even on a weak signal, doing his AI-related tasks in the short windows when his connection was solid instead of trying to hold a long back-and-forth conversation, and using his phone's data as a backup when the home internet dropped entirely.
He's found that most of what he actually needs — a quick explanation, help drafting a short message, a fast answer to a specific question — doesn't require the kind of sustained connection he assumed it did.
It's not going to work well for anything that needs a long, involved back-and-forth, but for the quick practical stuff, spotty internet has turned out to be less of a dealbreaker than he expected.
Living somewhere with unreliable internet doesn't rule out getting real use out of these tools, it just means working in shorter bursts. A little patience with the connection goes further than most people assume.
If you want the slow, no-jargon version of all this — the stuff I wish someone had handed me before I fumbled through it myself — that's exactly what I built On Ramp AI for. Check it out here.