ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot, faced a technical issue which caused a global outage on Thursday, affecting millions of users. The technical glitch also affected OpenAI’s API and Sora services. OpenAI assured users that they are “working to roll out a fix.” However, it has now been restored.
OpenAI posted the updated via its X handle: “ChatGPT, API, and Sora were down today but we’ve recovered.”
ChatGPT, API, and Sora were down today but we've recovered. https://t.co/OKiQYp3tXE
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) December 12, 2024
Meanwhile, popular chat app WhatsApp, photo sharing platform Instagram, and social media site Facebook were down for thousands of users worldwide on Wednesday, affecting communications and activities. Meta said it was working to resolve the technical issue and was carrying out last-minute checks as most users reported that they were able to use the social media apps again.
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Outage
Outage tracking website DownDetector, more than 50,000 Facebook users reported issues at around 11 pm (IST). These problems included logging in, uploading posts, and updating existing content. Instagram was down for more than 23,000 users, many of whom were unable to access or update their posts.
Access to messages, posts and updates was either slow or completely unavailable for many. The outages affected both the desktop and mobile versions of the platforms. However, users said they were able to access WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram from both their computers and desktops.
Access to posts, messages and updates was slow or unavailable for many. The outages affected both the desktop and mobile versions.
Issuing a statement to X, Meta said it was aware of the global outage and was working to restore all the three platforms
“We’re aware that a technical issue is impacting some users’ ability to access our apps. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience,” Meta said in a statement around midnight on Thursday.
Meta gave an update around 3:50 am saying, “Thanks for bearing with us! We’re 99 per cent of the way there – just doing some last checks. We apologise to those who’ve been affected by the outage,” it said.
The problems began around 10:58 pm, when Facebook users had difficulty logging in and uploading posts.
Meta-owned Instagram faced similar issues. Users reported they could not access posts or update content. The app also crashed frequently.
WhatsApp users also experienced problems. Several users reported that they were facing issues sending and receiving messages. DownDetector tracked the disruptions and noted a rise in complaints.
Top AI Chatbot Alternatives
Here are six alternatives to popular AI chatbot ChatGPT that you can use:
Gemini: Google’s Gemini was launched as a competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The chatbot helps access and process real-world information through Google Search.
Microsoft Copilot: Claiming to be your “AI companion,” Microsoft Copilot is an AI chatbot that increases user creativity and productivity by taking over tedious tasks like information gathering.
Claude AI: Known for its natural text-based conversations, Claude can be useful in tasks like summarising, editing, question and answer, decision making, and writing code.
Perplexity AI: A free AI-powered answer engine, the Perplexity AI offers accurate, reliable, and real-time answers to any question and can be a good choice for researchers.
Rytr: Popular among content writers and marketers, this AI tool an generate social media content, blog posts, ad copy, emails, etc.
Jasper AI: Jasper AI specialises in content creation and is specifically designed for marketers and content creators. It can generate various text formats including social media posts, blog posts, and ad copy.
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