OpenAI faces major outage disrupting ChatGPT and Sora services

OpenAI's popular AI chatbot ChatGPT and other services, including the Sora image generator, suffered a major outage on a Tuesday in early June 2025. The issues became apparent around 3 a.m. EDT, with users reporting elevated error rates and significant latency when trying to access the services. By 8 a.m., Downdetector had recorded nearly 2,000 reports of outages, with 92% of these specifically relating to ChatGPT. OpenAI acknowledged the situation, stating they were actively investigating and working to resolve the problems. Users reported responses that indicated service disruptions, leading to frustration among those relying on the chatbot's capabilities for tasks. The outage persisted for several hours, with users experiencing degraded performance and receiving error messages. While some functionality appeared to improve in the later morning, it was clear that recovery would take time. OpenAI admitted they had identified the root cause of the issues and were implementing fixes, but a full resolution might take additional hours. During the outage, users took to social media to voice their frustrations, with many humorously lamenting their return to manual task management without the assistance of ChatGPT. This incident is not an isolated one; previous outages had occurred in the months leading up to this event. Such disruptions have increasingly raised concerns over the reliability of AI services like ChatGPT, as its user base continues to rapidly grow, now exceeding 500 million weekly active users. OpenAI’s challenges underscore the growing pains faced by companies in the fast-evolving tech landscape, particularly as it pertains to providing stable services to a large number of users. The implications of these outages not only affect user experience but also touch on broader discussions regarding job security and how AI technology interacts with human productivity. As demand for AI tools increases in various sectors, conversations are intensifying about ensuring reliable AI service delivery. In this context, OpenAI's efforts to rectify the current outage and bolster future operational resilience will be crucial for maintaining user trust and confidence. Stakeholders are now looking for clarity on how OpenAI plans to address the emerging challenges to ensure that users can rely on their services without interruption in the future.