OpenAI's ChatGPT faced a significant global outage on Sunday, March 30, 2025, as its servers buckled under an unprecedented surge in demand, primarily driven by the viral popularity of its new Studio Ghibli-style image generation feature. This disruption left many users frustrated, unable to access the platform for hours as the outage began on Saturday evening and escalated by Sunday afternoon, with a sharp spike in error reports around 4:19 PM, according to Downdetector.
Users encountered messages indicating that the platform had reached its rate limit, preventing them from generating images or using other ChatGPT features. OpenAI acknowledged the issue, confirming that "users are experiencing elevated errors" and that engineers were diligently working on a fix. By late Sunday, the company announced that all affected services had been "fully recovered" and assured users that a detailed root cause analysis (RCA) would be released within five business days.
The server overload was primarily driven by OpenAI’s new feature, which allows users to create images inspired by the iconic animation style of Japan’s renowned Studio Ghibli. The tool gained viral traction almost instantly, with users flooding social media with their AI-generated artworks. As the situation escalated, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to appeal to users, writing: "Can y'all please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep." This statement highlighted the immense pressure the team was under due to the unexpected demand.
In response to the overwhelming demand, OpenAI has introduced new restrictions on image generation. Free-tier users—who previously had unlimited access—are now limited to three image generations per day. Paid subscribers, including ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Team, and Select users, will continue to have unrestricted access. This move follows a prior announcement from Altman on Thursday, when he revealed that OpenAI had imposed temporary rate limits due to excessive GPU usage, saying that the company’s servers were "melting" under the pressure. He assured users that optimizations were underway, adding, "Hopefully won’t be long."
As frustration mounted, a user on X jokingly suggested that OpenAI should fire the team responsible for the feature. Altman quickly defended them, responding: "No thanks. In addition to building AGI, this team is on trajectory to build the biggest website in the world from a cold start 2.33 years ago. Best team in the world." He added simply: "It’s just hard." This defense illustrates the challenges faced by the team as they navigate the rapid growth and demand for the platform.
The outage underscores the ongoing challenge OpenAI faces in managing the explosive growth of ChatGPT and its expanding capabilities. While the company continues to enhance its infrastructure, incidents like these reflect the immense computational demands required to power large-scale AI models and their increasingly complex features.
According to DownDetector, at least 229 users reported issues related to OpenAI's service disruption, with about 59 percent of complaints specifically regarding ChatGPT. The introduction of Studio Ghibli-style image generation in ChatGPT has captivated users worldwide, allowing them to transform ordinary photos into enchanting visuals inspired by the iconic Japanese animation studio.
OpenAI's latest update to ChatGPT, powered by the new GPT-4o model, has marked a significant leap from its previous DALL-E 3-based capabilities. Users can create AI-generated Ghibli-style images by uploading their chosen photos and writing a text prompt, resulting in unique visuals inspired by the hand-drawn animation style featured in Oscar-winning films such as "Spirited Away" and "The Boy and the Heron." This new feature has not only delighted users but has also contributed to the overwhelming demand that led to the outage.
As the demand for AI-generated content reaches unprecedented levels, OpenAI's next steps will be crucial in ensuring the platform remains stable while meeting user expectations. The company is under pressure to not only resolve the current issues but also to enhance its infrastructure to accommodate future growth.
In summary, the recent outage of ChatGPT highlights the challenges faced by OpenAI as it navigates the explosive popularity of its new features. With users eager to explore the creative possibilities offered by the Studio Ghibli-style image generation, the company must balance user demand with the technical capabilities of its infrastructure. As OpenAI works to improve its services, the future of ChatGPT remains a topic of keen interest for both users and industry observers alike.
