OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, experienced its second significant outage in December, leaving users worldwide frustrated. This time, the issue also impacted OpenAI’s video model, Sora, and its API services.
The downtime lasted for several hours, with widespread reports of functionality problems starting around 1:30 PM ET (12 AM IST) on December 11.
What Happened?
Outage-tracking platform DownDetector recorded a surge in user complaints, particularly from the United States, where users reported encountering “internal server error” messages. Although the number of reports began to decline within 30 minutes, the service disruption persisted for hours.
OpenAI acknowledged the issue on X (formerly Twitter), stating it had identified the root cause and was actively working on a resolution.
The company’s exclusive cloud partner, Microsoft, later revealed a “power issue” at one of its North American data centers was the likely cause. This issue coincided with problems reported in other Microsoft services, including Xbox cloud gaming.
Extent of the Outage
OpenAI confirmed that the outage affected ChatGPT, its API, and Sora. Hours after the disruption began, OpenAI announced that the issues with Sora had been resolved, while fixes for ChatGPT and the API were nearly complete.
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This is not the first such incident in recent weeks. Earlier in December, ChatGPT experienced a similar outage affecting the same platforms. According to DownDetector, that event garnered over 2,400 outage reports.
A Pattern of Service Disruptions
December’s outages follow a larger pattern of reliability challenges for OpenAI. On November 8, ChatGPT became unavailable to over 19,000 users worldwide for approximately 30 minutes. OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, addressed the incident on X, expressing regret and noting that while the platform’s reliability had improved significantly, further work was needed.
Unprecedented Growth Amid Challenges
Despite these setbacks, ChatGPT continues to grow at an extraordinary pace. Since its debut in November 2022, the chatbot has amassed 250 million weekly active users. Earlier this month, Sam Altman revealed that this figure had climbed to 300 million weekly users.
OpenAI’s valuation has soared to $157 billion, a dramatic rise from $14 billion in 2021, while its revenue has grown to $3.6 billion—far exceeding initial projections.
December 11’s outage coincided with the launch of iOS 18.2, which features GPT integration in Apple’s Siri. Users relying on this integration also reported service interruptions, adding to the day’s challenges.
Looking Ahead
While OpenAI has made strides in enhancing the reliability of its services, recurring outages underline the need for more robust infrastructure and contingency planning.
Read more: ChatGPT being used to influence US elections, alleges OpenAI
As the company’s technology becomes increasingly integrated into everyday applications and platforms, maintaining uninterrupted service will be critical to sustaining user trust and growth.
Source: With inputs from wirers