OpenAI’s popular chatbot ChatGPT left thousands of users affected on Thursday evening following a global service disruption.

The platform’s status page, status.openai.com, which provides updates on the chatbot’s functionality, said users were facing issues linked to paid plans.

“We have identified that users are experiencing elevated errors for the impacted services.”

The company added:

“We are working on implementing a mitigation.”

The issue was listed as Identified and was marked as ongoing since Thu, May 21, 2026, 07:22 PM.

Reports of service issues rise sharply

Downdetector data for India showed a rapid increase in reports linked to OpenAI services during the evening.

The data indicated a sharp rise in user complaints beginning at around 5:00 PM on Thursday. Reports increased from nearly zero to more than 60 by approximately 7:00 PM, indicating a significant surge in users reporting problems. Meanwhile, data on Downdetector’s global platform suggested complaints worldwide crossed 1,045 by 7:47 PM.

Alternative AI tools available for users

For users seeking alternatives during the disruption, several AI platforms remain available:

Google Gemini: Known for factual accuracy.

Claude AI: Focused on creative and safe text generation.

Microsoft Copilot: Built directly into Microsoft’s productivity tools.

Jasper AI and Rytr: Tailored for content creators and marketers.

Perplexity AI: Focused on delivering direct and precise answers.