SINGAPORE – On January 23, users of the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT experienced significant disruptions, with many unable to access the service or retrieve their conversation history.

According to Downdetector, the issues began at approximately 7:14 PM local time, with reports peaking at 7:44 PM, showing 774 incidents from Singaporean users alone. Notably, 91 percent of these cases specifically involved ChatGPT, while the remaining issues pertained to OpenAI's website and app.

The global situation was even more pronounced, with over 4,100 outage reports logged around 7:40 PM. However, OpenAI has yet to comment on this outage through its social media channels, leaving users frustrated and seeking answers.

This isn't the first time ChatGPT has faced such issues.

In December 2024, the service suffered from a worldwide outage that lasted several hours. Reports from Singapore peaked at 150 cases on December 12, while U.S. users reported a staggering 28,478 outages at 7:40 AM the same day.

Despite these setbacks, ChatGPT's popularity has soared. Bloomberg reported in November 2024 that the platform boasted approximately 200 million active users, reflecting the fast-paced growth of the AI chatbot sector. As of September 2024, there were also more than one million subscribers to ChatGPT’s corporate version—a testament to its increasing adoption in various industries.

Given the rising reliance on such tools for both personal and professional productivity,

these recurrent outages may prompt users to reconsider their options or seek alternative AI solutions. Stay tuned for updates as we monitor the situation and await a response from OpenAI regarding their service disruptions.