OpenAI experienced a significant outage affecting ChatGPT, the Sora application, and their developer-facing API on Wednesday, starting around 3 PM PT. According to updates on the company’s status page, these services began to gradually restore functionality around 7 PM PT, with a full recovery noted by 9 PM PT.
The cause of the outage remains undetermined. During the downtime, visitors to ChatGPT.com encountered an error message indicating the service was unavailable but assured users that efforts were underway to resolve the issue.
This service interruption coincided with the launch of OpenAI’s integration with Apple in iOS 18.2, which may have resulted in a surge of traffic and contributed to the strain on their servers. Users reported issues accessing ChatGPT through Apple Intelligence during the outage. Additionally, OpenAI had recently launched Sora to the public, but due to overwhelming initial interest, they had to limit user registrations, which also likely impacted server capacity on launch day.
Interestingly, the outage took place on the fifth day of OpenAI’s ongoing “12 days of shipmas” event, a promotional campaign where the company has been unveiling new products in anticipation of the holiday season. So far, they have launched various updates and initiatives, showcasing their commitment to innovation even amidst technical challenges.
Despite the temporary disruption, OpenAI has demonstrated resilience in recovering services and continues to push forward with exciting developments. This incident serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by tech companies during major product launches, and the importance of scalable infrastructure to manage increased user demand.
In summary, while the outage posed significant challenges for OpenAI and its users, the company is actively addressing technical issues and remains on track with its ambitious rollouts. The hope is that these experiences will enhance their systems to better handle future demands, ensuring a smoother experience for users moving forward.