SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2026, 08:35 (PDT)
OpenAI reported problems loading ChatGPT and Codex on Monday, with its status page highlighting degraded performance for both chatbot and coding tools. “We are investigating the issue for the listed services,” the company stated, pointing to 12 ChatGPT components and one Codex component impacted. OpenAI Status
The outage hit while U.S. offices were open, and evening crowds in Europe and India also got caught up—an awkward stretch for a tool that’s become a staple for coding, writing, research, and daily desk work. Users ran into failed responses, loading lags, and couldn’t kick off new chats on browsers or phones, according to Moneycontrol.
OpenAI’s status page flagged another issue tied to ChatGPT Business—customers reported trouble after upgrades or adding seats. The company noted it had “applied the mitigation” and was watching for recovery. This was categorized separately from the larger ChatGPT and Codex loading failures. OpenAI Status
Starting just after 10:05 a.m. ET, issue reports ticked up fast, according to TechRadar, which referenced Downdetector figures. Live updates showed more than 7,600 incidents logged in the UK, with U.S. numbers hitting roughly 1,700. Later on, the UK tally topped 8,000.
In India, The Economic Times noted Downdetector logged more than 900 reports by 8:23 p.m. local time. OpenAI acknowledged the issue, saying the outage was impacting both ChatGPT and Codex—users couldn’t access either service.
OpenAI was flagged for issues on Downdetector’s UK page, with ChatGPT accounting for 88% of complaints, while app and login troubles made up the rest. According to Downdetector, incidents are highlighted when user reports spike past usual levels—so its numbers point to disruption, not an official tally of accounts hit.
The disruption fast turned into social-media fodder. NDTV Profit pointed out how users joked about panic after ChatGPT went offline—a reminder that the tool is now embedded in the daily routines of students, professionals, and small businesses who used to see it as just an extra.
Tom’s Guide noted that OpenAI’s status page listed a “Partial Outage” for ChatGPT, with the company still looking into the issue. According to the report, Downdetector logged a surge in complaints, which later tapered off from the initial jump. Tom’s Guide
In a space packed with AI assistants—Google pushes Gemini Enterprise for the office crowd, Anthropic promotes Claude Code to help with programming—users technically have options. But the outage Monday hit OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Codex, core tools that a lot of workflows now depend on.
Duration stands out as the big risk here. In its incident notice, OpenAI hadn’t pinned down a root cause, nor did it offer a definite restoration timeline. User-report trackers, for their part, sometimes lag or even exaggerate outages. If these service hiccups drag on, it’s not just an annoyance—it means work gets dropped, particularly for paid subscribers and developers leaning on Codex.
ChatGPT has stumbled before, if only for a while. Back in February, Reuters noted the chatbot returned to service after an outage that, at its height, logged over 13,000 U.S. Downdetector complaints. It’s another sign: even major AI tools can crash as visibly—and as painfully—as any other big online platform.
