In a disruption, OpenAI’s widely-used AI chatbot, ChatGPT, experienced a global outage on the morning of December 12, 2024.
The outage, which began around 5:30 AM IST (7:00 PM ET on December 11), left millions of users unable to access the service for nearly two hours.
OpenAI’s API and its Sora video generation platform were also affected during this period.
OpenAI promptly acknowledged the issue via a post on X, stating, “We’re experiencing an outage right now. We have identified the issue and are working to roll out a fix.
Sorry, and we’ll keep you updated!” The company later confirmed that services had been fully restored by 8:00 AM IST, assuring users that normal operations had resumed.
Widespread Impact
The outage disrupted both individual and business users globally.
Many users reported difficulties logging in, degraded performance, and errors when attempting to access the platform.
Outage tracking website Downdetector recorded over 25,000 reports of issues during the peak of the disruption.
Premium subscribers, including those on ChatGPT Plus and Pro plans, expressed frustration over the downtime despite paying for priority access.
Businesses relying on OpenAI’s API for AI-driven projects also faced significant challenges during the outage.
The Sora platform, which enables video generation from text prompts, was similarly inaccessible.
OpenAI’s Response
OpenAI worked swiftly to identify and resolve the technical issue.
In an update on its website during the outage, the company noted that it had “identified a pathway to recovery” and was seeing some traffic gradually return to normal.
By 8:00 AM IST, OpenAI announced that all affected services, including ChatGPT and its API, were back online.
The incident underscores the growing reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT in daily life and business operations.
Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has amassed approximately 300 million weekly active users globally, making such outages particularly impactful.
Not an Isolated Incident
This is not the first time ChatGPT has faced service disruptions. Previous outages occurred in November and June this year, with durations ranging from 30 minutes to over five hours.
While OpenAI has significantly improved service reliability over time, CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that there is still work to be done to ensure consistent performance.
Interestingly, this outage came just hours after Meta’s platforms—WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook—experienced widespread disruptions affecting thousands of users globally.
While unrelated, these incidents highlight the vulnerabilities of digital platforms in maintaining uninterrupted services.
As AI tools become increasingly integral to education, work, and entertainment, ensuring their reliability will remain a critical challenge for companies like OpenAI.
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