Memes Galore as ChatGPT Faces Global Disruption, Users Report Network Errors Across Web and App

ChatGPT experienced a significant global outage on Wednesday, impacting users worldwide and leading to widespread complaints on social media. The outage affected both the website and app, with Downdetector reporting hundreds of issues. 

New Delhi: Popular AI chatbot ChatGPT experienced a major disruption on Wednesday, frustrating users worldwide and sparking a flood of complaints on social media about downtime and connectivity errors.

According to Downdetector, which monitors online service outages, reports began climbing after 11 am IST, with hundreds of users flagging issues. By mid-afternoon, the impact appeared to be easing — as of 3:30 pm, only 42 reports were listed, compared to over 500 earlier in India alone.

Nature of the Problems

Downdetector data suggested that the outage hit ChatGPT directly in 85% of reports, while 13% pointed to issues with OpenAI’s website. A smaller fraction — just 2% — noted disruptions in Writing Coach.

Some users said the chatbot remained functional, but many encountered persistent network errors across both the website and mobile app.

So far, OpenAI has not issued a formal statement regarding the cause of the outage or its expected resolution time.

Track Record of Outages

ChatGPT has suffered downtime several times in the recent past. Some of the notable ones include:

January 23, 2025: A global access failure lasting over three hours, affecting users in Spain, Argentina, and the United States.

December 26, 2024: A glitch halted services for hours worldwide.

February 5, 2025: A major breakdown left tens of thousands locked out, with 22,000 reports on Downdetector.

Recent disruptions: In just the past week, the service briefly went offline on September 1, 2, and 3, including a short 10-minute outage earlier today.

Alternatives for Users

For those left stranded during outages, several AI-powered ChatGPT alternatives remain accessible:

Google Gemini – optimized for efficient text content generation.

Microsoft Copilot – integrates ChatGPT-like functions with image creation tools.

YouChat – answers with up-to-date, search-backed results.

Jasper Chat – tailored for content creators, featuring SEO-friendly tools.

Perplexity AI – built for deep research with accurate citations.

Social Media Reaction

After the global outage, there was panic on social media and this even led to memes and trolls. Some found this situation as the time for many to use their brains as many rely on AI to do the majority of their work these days. Check out some reactions: