What happened
ChatGPT and OpenAI's platform websites experienced a partial outage affecting some users on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. OpenAI identified the issue as being caused by a problem with one of their third-party service providers. The outage was first reported in the early morning hours UTC and remained under investigation with updates pending.
Why it matters
- Users were unable to access ChatGPT services during the outage, disrupting access to OpenAI's widely-used AI chatbot.
- The incident highlights dependency on third-party infrastructure and its potential impact on service availability for millions of users.
- Ongoing service disruptions can affect productivity for businesses and individuals relying on ChatGPT for daily tasks.
Key facts
- 1. The outage began on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 04:43 AM UTC.
- 2. The incident affected ChatGPT and OpenAI Platform websites.
- 3. The root cause was traced to a third-party service provider issue.
