A significant outage at Microsoft has disrupted multiple services, including Bing, Copilot, ChatGPT, and DuckDuckGo. This unexpected issue has left users scrambling as several core functionalities ceased to operate correctly on Thursday.
Earlier today, numerous Bing users reported that the search engine was down, making it difficult to access information. Simultaneously, users of Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot and the internet search feature of ChatGPT experienced interruptions. OpenAI, which receives substantial investment and infrastructure support from Microsoft, acknowledged the issue on its status page, confirming that ChatGPT’s ability to search the internet was compromised.
DuckDuckGo, a private search engine that relies on the Bing API for search results, also faced disruptions. While the DuckDuckGo homepage loaded, attempts to perform searches returned no results.
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In a brief statement on X (formerly Twitter), Microsoft addressed only the Copilot outage, noting that it is “working to isolate the cause of the issue.” OpenAI similarly updated users on its status page but did not provide a timeline for when normal service would resume.
At the time of writing, services are inconsistent. While I was able to access Bing and use ChatGPT and Copilot without issues, DuckDuckGo failed to return search results despite its homepage loading correctly.
Such outages, while common in the digital age, highlight the extensive impact of disruptions in services provided by major technology companies. Given Microsoft’s significant role in the tech ecosystem, even partial outages can have widespread repercussions. Interestingly, BleepingComputer noted earlier that Bing’s outage affected only the homepage, while direct access to the search page functioned normally. Similarly, ChatGPT’s general capabilities remained unaffected, with only its internet search feature experiencing issues.
Microsoft is actively working on resolving the problem, and partial service restoration suggests progress is being made. However, it remains uncertain how long it will take for full functionality to return to all affected services. Additionally, questions linger about the root cause of the outage and the measures Microsoft might implement to prevent similar issues in the future.
For users relying on these services, patience is advised as technical teams address the disruptions. Further updates from Microsoft, OpenAI, and DuckDuckGo are anticipated as they work towards a comprehensive resolution.
