Major ChatGPT Outage Hits Global Users Amid Widespread Cloudflare Disruption

A significant service outage has rendered ChatGPT inaccessible to users worldwide. The disruption began on November 18, 2025, and is linked to a major incident at Cloudflare. This cloud service provider supports countless websites and online platforms.

The outage highlights the fragile interconnectedness of the modern internet. According to Reuters, such widespread disruptions can have immediate economic and operational consequences for businesses and individuals relying on these services.

ChatGPT Outage: A Symptom of a Larger Network Failure

User reports flooded platforms like Downdetector, showing a sharp spike in complaints. The data revealed over 90% of the issues were related to ChatGPT failing mid-session. Users experienced unexpected disconnections and blank screens.

The problem was not isolated to OpenAI’s popular AI tool. The social media platform X and many other major websites were also affected. This pointed to a central cause rather than individual platform errors.

Cloudflare’s Critical Role in Today’s Internet Infrastructure

Cloudflare provides essential services like DNS, CDN, and DDoS protection. Hundreds of large organizations depend on its network for their online operations. A failure at this level creates a domino effect.

The company acknowledged the issue, stating it was investigating widespread “500 errors.” Their own dashboard and API were also failing. This made mitigation efforts more challenging for their technical teams.

The list of impacted services was extensive. It included major platforms like Discord, Shopify, Canva, and Verizon. This demonstrates the sheer scale of Cloudflare’s reach across the digital ecosystem.

The global reliance on centralized cloud services is now starkly evident. This major outage serves as a critical reminder of the internet’s underlying vulnerabilities and the need for robust contingency plans.

Info at your fingertips

What caused the ChatGPT outage?

The outage was caused by a major disruption at Cloudflare. Cloudflare’s services are critical for many websites to function properly. This upstream network failure made ChatGPT and other sites inaccessible.

Which other websites were down?

Many major platforms were affected. This included X, Discord, Shopify, and Canva. The outage impacted hundreds of organizations that use Cloudflare.

How long did the service disruption last?

Services were unstable for a significant period. Cloudflare worked to mitigate the problem, but users experienced issues until the network was fully stabilized. The exact duration varied.

Did OpenAI comment on the outage?

OpenAI had not officially commented on the Cloudflare link at the time. The company typically addresses widespread issues through its status page. User access was restored as the root cause was fixed.

What is Cloudflare’s role for websites?

Cloudflare provides a global cloud network. It offers security, performance, and reliability services for websites. A failure in its system can therefore take down many sites at once.