ChatGPT outages: why they happen and what to do if ChatGPT is down

If you are reading this, it is most likely because ChatGPT has crashed once again.

You have probably said this phrase more than once in recent times. The most popular AI tool in history is currently experiencing an unstable phase, and service failures are occurring with an alarming frequency. From the inability to generate images to login issues, and glitches in custom GPTs or Codex, among other problems.

#chatgpt
gpt down @OpenAI pic.twitter.com/Q11KVrd6lF

— டாமி  (@OG_TOM07) July 7, 2026

ChatGPT Image Generator has been down for a few hours.

New Age “Designers”… pic.twitter.com/39uCchNKXH

— Stephen Hanlon (@Hanlon_Stephen) July 7, 2026

As of right now, OpenAI has not made any official announcement on social media regarding the matter. However, checking their status page reveals an update on the situation: “Core functionality has been restored, but we are aware of known and ongoing issues in FedRAMP workspaces involving Codex, workspace analytics, conversation search, custom GPT search, ChatGPT user invitations, and the compliance logs platform download endpoint. We are working to resolve these issues and will share more updates as more information becomes available.“

Later, they added: “We are investigating elevated errors affecting image generation in ChatGPT. Some users may be unable to generate images.”

Over the last two years, ChatGPT has experienced several global outages that have significantly impacted its users. These disruptions cause frustration and raise questions about the reliability of this AI tool..

First major outage: May 2024

The first significant incident took place on May 22, 2024. During this outage, users worldwide reported difficulties accessing the platform and using its features. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, attributed this disruption to a problem with its cloud infrastructure. This incident lasted several hours, causing a high level of frustration among users and generating numerous complaints on social media.

Second significant outage: June 2024

On June 4, 2024, ChatGPT experienced another global interruption. This time, error rates were extremely high, making it impossible for the system to function correctly. OpenAI explained that the primary cause was a database failure, which resulted in a massive service disruption. Technical details were published on their official blog, highlighting the importance of a robust architecture to prevent similar issues in the future.

June 2024 outage

Another major ChatGPT outage occurred on June 17, 2024. This interruption was shorter in duration compared to the previous ones, but equally impactful. OpenAI reported that the cause was a failed system update, which led to a data synchronization issue. Although quickly resolved, this technical problem underscored the system’s vulnerability to both human and technological errors.

June 2025 outage

On June 10, 2025, OpenAI’s popular AI began to experience worldwide interruptions and failures that caused significant inconvenience for millions of users. Starting at 9:30 AM Spanish time, the DownDetector platform began receiving notifications, which OpenAI soon confirmed on its status page, with reports continuing to increase from that point on.

In addition to ChatGPT, OpenAI acknowledged issues with another one of its flagship tools, Sora. Furthermore, the company explained that they were working to solve the problem, but did not provide details regarding the reason. It is worth noting that the release on the same day of their (at the time) new model, o3-pro, could have been one of the causes. This would not have been the first time a ChatGPT “blackout” coincided with the rollout of a new model from the company led by Sam Altman. The issue was resolved the following day, June 11.

September 2025 outage

On September 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., OpenAI released a statement indicating: “We are experiencing issues,” and specifically, “ChatGPT is not displaying responses.” The company actively began investigating the incident, detailing that the issue exclusively affected ChatGPT. Ultimately, the outage was resolved around 12:30 p.m.

April 2026 outage

The most recent incident took place on April 20 at around 4:00 PM (CEST), when OpenAI’s alert systems began to report failures loading ChatGPT and Codex. OpenAI, simply made a brief statement indicating that they were investigating the matter (“We are investigating the issue for the listed services”).

This lack of detailed explanation is something relatively common at Sam Altman’s company. The same occurred on September 3, 2025, when OpenAI released a statement indicating: “We are experiencing problems” and, specifically, “ChatGPT is not displaying responses”. The company began actively investigating the incident, specifying that the issue affected ChatGPT exclusively. Finally, the outage was resolved by around 12:30 PM.

However, over the past two years, ChatGPT has experienced several global outages that have significantly impacted its users. These interruptions cause frustration and raise questions about the reliability of this artificial intelligence tool.

What should you do if ChatGPT is down again?

Beyond individual use, many businesses rely on the OpenAI API to power their own products and services. For example, a startup that has built a customer service chatbot based on the GPT API faces a total service disruption if the API stops functioning. This means that clients cannot receive responses to their inquiries, resulting in a poor user experience and potentially leading to lost sales.

Imagine that during an outage, this assistant becomes unavailable, forcing clients to wait hours before being assisted by a human agent or, worse yet, to abandon their purchase altogether. The result is a decrease in the productivity of the support team and a potential loss of revenue from unfulfilled sales.

The reliability of a company is crucial for maintaining customer loyalty. If a business promises quick and efficient service powered by AI, but that service is frequently unavailable, customers will begin to doubt the company’s reliability itself. This could lead to the long-term loss of customers as they seek more stable alternatives.

In light of the possibility of future ChatGPT outages, it is essential to be prepared to minimize the impact on our operations. If you are seeking alternatives to ChatGPT, remember that you can use one of the 50 leading generative AI tools worldwide, such as Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, or Perplexity, for example. 🙂 Or any of the top image-generating AIs, if that is what you are looking for. 😉

In any case, here are some practical recommendations:

1. Maintain a backup system: Utilize other artificial intelligence platforms as backup for your critical tasks. Tools such as Google Bard or Microsoft Azure AI can be viable alternatives.
2. Monitor the service status: Use monitoring services that alert you to the real-time status of ChatGPT. Websites such as DownDetector provide live updates and user feedback.
3. Implement a contingency plan: Develop and regularly test a contingency plan that includes detailed steps for switching to alternative tools and ensuring business continuity.
4. Transparent communication: Inform your team and your clients about any service interruptions and the steps you are taking to resolve them. Transparency builds trust and reduces uncertainty.
5. Ongoing training: Ensure that your team is trained to handle alternative tools and quickly resolve technical issues.

As you can see, it is a complex matter. Yet another chapter in the turbulent history of OpenAI, which I highly recommend you explore. 😉

Photo: GPT Plus