Global ChatGPT outage affects users across US, UK, Asia

OpenAI said, “We are currently investigating elevated error rates in the API.” The cause of the outage remains unclear

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ChatGPT users experienced widespread disruptions on Thursday as thousands struggled to access the popular AI chatbot service. Reports of issues began emerging around 5:00 pm, according to outage tracking platform Downdetector.

The outage primarily affected users in the United States and the United Kingdom, with ChatGPT access issues reported. However, users in Asia, particularly Pakistan, also experienced difficulties accessing the website.

OpenAI, the company behind the AI, acknowledged the disruption, stating that it was “currently experiencing elevated error rates in the API,” though its official status page did not list full downtime, only “degraded performance.”

At its peak, more than 6,500 users in the UK reported issues, with a similar spike in the US, where over 4,200 users reported problems.

In India, more than 3,700 users reported glitches by 5:18 pm. Common complaints included the "Bad gateway" error, as shared by users on social media platform X.

OpenAI confirmed the issue around 5:30 pm, stating, “We are currently investigating elevated error rates in the API.” The cause of the outage remains unclear.

Though many users access ChatGPT for free, OpenAI offers subscription plans that can cost up to $200 per month. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed in December that more than 300 million people worldwide use ChatGPT weekly.

This comes on the heels of a major commitment by OpenAI and other tech companies to invest $500 billion (£405 billion) into AI infrastructure in the US.

This disruption follows a major announcement just a day prior, as OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank unveiled the $500 billion Stargate project at the White House.

The project, touted as pivotal for securing American leadership in AI, drew praise from President Donald Trump, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk cast doubt on its financial feasibility, claiming SoftBank had insufficient funds for the venture.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Musk’s claims, inviting him to visit the project’s Texas site. As OpenAI works to resolve the outage, users across the globe are eagerly awaiting a fix, while questions around the company's new ventures and its impact on AI's future continue to surface.