I thought I'd jump in here as my experience was different. I went to the ATL Special Assistance counter to get a gate pass to meet my elderly mother back in 2019. I was told that the traveler (my Mom) needed to call in advance and have a note added to the record requesting a gate pass for me to meet her. So YMMV. I'd suggest calling Delta in advance just to make sure you can get the gate pass. In the end she made it out to baggage claim on a busy Friday night just fine - she got a kick out of the underground Plane Train. For context - she doesn't require wheelchair assistance, but she gets confused in busy unfamiliar situations.

Side note, I bought my Mom's ticket so maybe I could have added special instructions during the purchase process....