On Friday, users of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, faced a sudden outage. The disruption affected thousands of people worldwide, sparking frustration and confusion. OpenAI confirmed the issue and reassured users, stating, “Issues with ChatGPT have now been resolved.”
Restoration Efforts and Timeline
Most users regained access to ChatGPT by 4:34 p.m. PT (0034 GMT on Saturday). However, a small number of customers continued to face issues until 5 p.m. PT (0100 GMT on Saturday). The outage lasted approximately 30 minutes, impacting over 19,400 users according to Downdetector, an outage-tracking website.
CEO Addresses ChatGPT Outage
OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, acknowledged the disruption and posted on social media platform X. “ChatGPT had been down for 30 minutes,” he wrote, adding a frown emoji. Altman also noted, “We are much, much better at reliability than we used to be, but clearly more work in front of us.”
This comment highlighted the company’s commitment to improving ChatGPT’s reliability while admitting that challenges remain.
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Outage Impact on Siri Integration and Apple Users
The ChatGPT outage extended beyond the platform itself. Users of the iOS 18.2 beta reported issues with Siri’s new ChatGPT integration. This feature, introduced by Apple, allows users to interact with ChatGPT through Siri without needing an OpenAI account. Due to the outage, iPhone, iPad, and Mac users experienced disruptions in using this feature.
Apple’s iOS 18.2 beta promised enhanced Apple Intelligence features, including seamless ChatGPT access via Siri. However, the temporary failure left many users unable to utilise this integration, impacting those testing Apple’s latest software updates.
Efforts to Address the Outage
OpenAI quickly identified the cause of the outage and worked to restore ChatGPT’s functionality. The company committed to resuming services “as soon as possible” but did not initially provide an estimated timeframe. Users reported seeing random error messages while attempting to access ChatGPT during the downtime, adding to the frustration.
ChatGPT’s Growing User Base and Significance
Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has rapidly become a pivotal AI tool. The platform attracts 250 million weekly active users. OpenAI’s valuation has skyrocketed from $14 billion in 2021 to $157 billion, as revenues surged from zero to $3.6 billion. This massive growth far exceeded initial projections by CEO Sam Altman and reinforced ChatGPT’s role as a leader in artificial intelligence.
OpenAI’s Services and User Dependence
OpenAI provides users with a comprehensive suite of AI tools, including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and specialised services like the OpenAI API. These tools support various functions, from writing assistance to data analysis. As a result, many individuals and businesses have come to rely on ChatGPT for their daily operations, making any service disruption significant.
Downdetector Highlights User Reports
Downdetector, which monitors service disruptions, showed that more than 19,400 users were impacted as of 7:13 p.m. ET (0013 GMT on Saturday). The outage particularly frustrated users who rely on the platform for work, study, and personal tasks. Reports indicated that many were left wondering, Is ChatGPT down? as they sought answers about the unexpected issue.
ChatGPT Reliability and Future Improvements
While OpenAI has made strides in improving the reliability of ChatGPT, this outage underlined the need for continuous enhancement. Sam Altman’s comments acknowledged the progress while also admitting more work lies ahead.
Conclusion
The ChatGPT outage on Friday demonstrated the platform’s integral role in daily activities for millions. Although OpenAI restored services within a short period, the disruption affected thousands, especially users testing Siri’s ChatGPT integration on iOS 18.2. The event underscored the importance of ongoing reliability improvements as OpenAI continues to innovate and expand its services.
