ChatGPT shuts down globally as users report service outage
This illustration photograph shows figurines next to a screen displaying a logo of OpenAI, a U.S. artificial intelligence organisation in Mulhouse, eastern France, taken on Oct. 30, 2023. (AFP Photo)
ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by U.S.-based OpenAI has witnessed a service outage for several hours on Thursday, as users reported worldwide.
A website tracking service outages worldwide, Downdetector showed a sharp spike in the reports of outages between 1130-1500 GMT, according to U.S. media.
ChatGPT users experienced difficulty accessing their history or chatting with the AI, according to posts in social media platform X.
ChatGPT shuts down partially, millions of users affected
Users worldwide reported receiving timeouts and lack of access to the platform risked many businesses and users that use the services to seek alternatives given issues of reliability.
According to Euronews, over 5,600 reports had been made at the time of publication in the UK. In the United States, that number stood at over 4,300, per outlet’s report.
James Hull, a British developed based in Essex, commented on X, ‘ChatGPT is down… How do I function?”
A Danish entrepreneur wrote, ”ChatGPT seems to be down at the moment with a ‘bad gateway’ error. Hopefully, the Open AI team resolves this soon!”
Chatgpt resumes operations after brief outage affecting millions
By 1500 GMT, ChatGPT resumed operations as errors were fixed by OpenAI. According to OpenAI’s status page (status.openai.com), the most recent significant outage occurred on December 26, during which ChatGPT was unavailable for three hours.
ChatGPT registered 300 million active global users in 2024 and accounts for over 60% of the AI tools marketplace.
