OpenAI’s ChatGPT And API Services Experiencing Periodic Outages via @sejournal, @kristileilani

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is experiencing periodic outages, as detailed in the company’s latest incident report. The incident began at 12:03 PM PST.

Screenshot from OpenAI, November 2023

OpenAI implemented a fix for the incident earlier and is monitoring the situation.

The issues could be related to the new features recently released across OpenAI’s platform on DevDay.

usage of our new features from devday is far outpacing our expectations.

we were planning to go live with GPTs for all subscribers monday but still haven’t been able to. we are hoping to soon.

there will likely be service instability in the short term due to load. sorry :/

— Sam Altman (@sama) November 8, 2023

When the incident began, ChatGPT users received errors of exceptionally high demand.

Screenshot from ChatGPT, November 2023

Some speculated the issue was due to a DDoS attack.

OpenAI currently experiencing (its first?) major outage. Anonymous Sudan hackers are claiming it's them. They started posting about their DDoS attack as servers went down. It's down for me in the UK. pic.twitter.com/gr1GwbruJf

— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) November 8, 2023

Downdetector has also noted multiple reports of outages on ChatGPT’s website and app.

Screenshot from Downdetector, November 2023

Earlier in the day, OpenAI also experienced an outage.

Screenshot from OpenAI, November 2023

The issues began the night before, on November 7, when partial outages were noted.

Screenshot from OpenAI, November 2023

OpenAI’s engineering team responded promptly, implementing a series of fixes to resolve the issues.

Screenshot from ChatGPT, November 2023

This incident marks a rare disruption in OpenAI’s typically reliable services.

Screenshot from OpenAI, November 2023

The quick response of the OpenAI engineering team typically minimizes the duration of such outages, but the event underscores the complexities inherent in maintaining large-scale AI services.

The resolution of this outage and future ones will be particularly relevant to those who rely heavily on stable AI tools for content creation, data analysis, and automated customer service.

The robustness of these systems is crucial for the seamless operation of marketing strategies and online engagement.

For those who depend on AI-driven tools, the OpenAI outages are a reminder of the importance of contingency plans for unexpected downtime.

However, as ChatGPT users navigated to alternatives like Google Bard, they found it was having problems, too.

Screenshot from Google, November 2023

Claude.ai users also reported downtime earlier today.

– ChatGPT Down.
– Claude Down.

Who's next ? pic.twitter.com/oKWt3sux1c

— DataChazGPT 🤯 (not a bot) (@DataChaz) November 8, 2023

Featured image: Vitor Miranda/Shutterstock