ChatGPT Outage: Everything We Know About the June 10th Downtime

ChatGPT Outage Hits Users Globally: What Happened?

Users around the world recently experienced significant frustration and disruption as a widespread ChatGPT outage rendered the popular AI tool inaccessible or unreliable for many. The downtime, which impacted a vast number of individuals relying on the service for daily tasks, creative work, and information retrieval, highlighted the increasing dependence on such advanced AI platforms. The sudden and unexpected nature of the ChatGPT outage left users searching for answers and alternatives, underscoring the critical need for stability in widely-used digital services.

Tracking the Downtime: When Did ChatGPT Issues Start?

The ChatGPT downtime began in the early hours of June 10th, 2025, with reports indicating that performance issues started appearing between approximately 2:30 AM and 3:00 AM ET. This marked the onset of a significant global outage that affected users across numerous countries, including widespread reports from places like Canada and Australia. The service disruption persisted for roughly seven hours, leading to a prolonged period where the AI chatbot was largely unavailable, causing significant inconvenience for its vast user base worldwide.

Beyond the Chatbot: How the Outage Affected OpenAI Services

The impact of the recent incident extended beyond the primary chatbot interface, revealing broader ChatGPT issues affecting various functions. Users encountered general performance degradations, making interactions sluggish or impossible. Specific error messages, such as the recurring "Hmm…something seems to have gone wrong," were widely reported. Particular features like the "Read Aloud" function also experienced problems. Furthermore, the disruption wasn't limited to ChatGPT itself; other OpenAI services, notably the AI video generation tool Sora, also experienced issues, indicating a more widespread technical challenge within OpenAI's infrastructure, leading to a perceived Sora outage alongside the chatbot issues.

Real User Reports: Latency, Errors, and Read Aloud Problems

Firsthand accounts from users across platforms like TechRadar, Down Detector, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit painted a clear picture of the ChatGPT errors encountered during the downtime. User reports detailed frustrating experiences, including significant message latency where responses were delayed or never arrived, a complete lack of response to queries, and the inability to use specific features like having the AI read text aloud. For many daily users, like those highlighted in TechRadar's coverage who rely on the tool for extended periods, these issues severely disrupted workflows and productivity, making the AI service effectively unusable.

OpenAI Responds: What the Company Said About the Downtime

In response to the widespread service disruption, OpenAI provided updates regarding the incident. The company acknowledged the elevated error rates and latency that users were experiencing across its services. They stated that they were actively investigating the cause of the problems and working on implementing mitigation strategies to restore full functionality. Throughout the incident, OpenAI utilized its official channels, including its service status page (users were advised to check OpenAI's status page), to keep the public informed about the ongoing investigation and the steps being taken towards resolving the issues. This communication aimed to provide transparency regarding the OpenAI response to the unexpected downtime.

Why Do ChatGPT Outages Occur? Understanding the Causes

While the specific reason for the June 10th outage was investigated by OpenAI, ChatGPT problems can generally arise from various underlying factors. According to general troubleshooting guidance, such service interruptions or performance issues might stem from transient server-side technical issues, network configuration problems, or even conflicts with browser extensions on the user's end. Understanding these potential causes, often detailed in resources like the OpenAI help page on troubleshooting, can help users identify potential local issues or simply understand that sometimes, the complexity of managing large-scale AI infrastructure can lead to unforeseen technical challenges impacting service availability.