ChatGPT suffers widespread outage as company chaos unfolds
- ChatGPT users are receiving error messages when trying to use the bot.
- The company says it has identified the error and is looking to fix it shortly.
Amid a chaotic week at OpenAI, the company's chatbot ChatGPT is experiencing a widespread outage Tuesday afternoon.
According to Down Detector, which tracks reports of outages, the platform began seeing a spike in errors around 2 p.m. PT.
OpenAI wrote on its status site that the issue had been identified and is affecting "non-completion API endpoints" as well.
"We're continuing to work on a fix," per the post. "The underlying issue is due to an issue with our database replicas."
A spokesperson for OpenAI responded to Business Insider by highlighting a tweet from a developer relations employee at OpenAI.
"Hey folks: We're aware of elevated error rates in ChatGPT and for some API users," the staffer wrote on X. "The team is working on a fix. Should be resolved shortly."
Business Insider verified that the bot was down by asking ChatGPT various questions. The bot responded with: "Something went wrong. If this issue persists please contact us through our help center at help.openai.com."
Outages are not atypical for the AI chatbot and happen regularly when the company implements new features. OpenAI announced a version of ChatGPT that responds to voice commands around 3 p.m. ET.
The chatbot had also experienced a previous outage earlier this month, the company announced, that reflected a targeted attack that overwhelmed their systems — also known as a DDoS attack.
Over the past week, OpenAI experienced a whirlwind weekend of departures and scrutiny after letting go of its CEO Sam Altman. Although the company's board was not completely transparent about why it let Altman go, reports say the tech mogul may be considering a return to OpenAI.
This story is developing. Check back for more information.