Is ChatGPT Down? AI Chatbot Restored After Major Global Outage

Popular AI chatbot ChatGPT experienced a major global outage on Tuesday, leaving thousands of users unable to access the OpenAI-powered service. Users across multiple regions reported timeouts, loading failures, and error messages, sparking widespread concern on social media.

Thousands Report ChatGPT Issues Worldwide

According to data from Downdetector, a platform that tracks service disruptions through user reports, complaints about ChatGPT began to surge around 3:20 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). At its peak, more than 13,000 users reported issues, a sharp jump from just 19 reports earlier in the day.

The number of complaints gradually declined as the situation improved. By 4:00 p.m. ET, reports dropped to around 3,700, and later fell below 1,000. By 6:30 p.m. ET, outage reports had decreased to fewer than 100, indicating that service was largely restored.

OpenAI Confirms ChatGPT Is Operational

OpenAI later confirmed that it had implemented the necessary mitigations to address the issue. The company’s official status page showed ChatGPT as “operational” by 6:30 p.m. ET, suggesting that the outage had been resolved.

While OpenAI did not disclose the exact cause of the disruption, the swift recovery helped restore access for most users.

How Downdetector Tracks Outages

Downdetector monitors outages by collecting user-submitted reports from various sources. Because the data relies on voluntary submissions, the reported numbers may not fully reflect the total number of affected users and can vary from other outage-tracking platforms.

Users Resume Access After Brief Disruption

Following the restoration, many users reported that ChatGPT was once again functioning normally. The incident highlights the growing reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT for work, education, and everyday tasks — and how even short outages can impact millions worldwide.