ChatGPT down as users rush to create Studio Ghibli-inspired images
What's the story
ChatGPT is facing a global outage, thwarting users' attempts to create animated avatars in the style of Studio Ghibli. The issue has been reported across its app and API services.
The disruption comes just days after OpenAI updated ChatGPT to generate images inspired by the iconic Japanese animation studio.
The upgrade was powered by the new GPT-4o model, a significant improvement over its previous DALL-E 3 capabilities.
Company statement
OpenAI's response to the outage
OpenAI officially acknowledged the issue at 4:40pm today. "We're currently experiencing issues," the company said.
It confirmed that users are facing increased errors for the affected services and is working on implementing a solution.
According to DownDetector, a website that tracks outages, at least 229 users have reported service disruptions from OpenAI. About 59% of these complaints were related to ChatGPT.
Twitter Post
Users took to X to complain about the issue
Is ChatGPT down ? @sama @ChatGPTapp @OpenAI #chatgpt pic.twitter.com/mvdRjNISGp
ā€” š¯•¬š¯–“š¯–‹š¯–ˇš¯–‡š¯–ˇ (@anfiibi) March 30, 2025
User engagement
Studio Ghibli-inspired image generation captivates users
The introduction of Studio Ghibli-style image generation in ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. The feature lets users convert mundane photos into stunning visuals inspired by the famous Japanese animation studio.
OpenAI introduced this sophisticated image generator via an update on ChatGPT-4o, allowing users to create images in Hayao Miyazaki's hand-drawn animation style as seen in Oscar-winning movies like Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron.
CEO's comments
OpenAI CEO addresses the image generation situation
Earlier today, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman took to X to address the situation, saying, "Can y'all please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep."
He added, "We just haven't been able to catch up since launch so people are still working to keep the service up. Biblical demand, I have never seen anything like it."
Altman's comments highlight the overwhelming response from users for Ghibli-style images.
Twitter Post
Take a look at Altman's post
can yall please chill on generating images this is insane our team needs sleep
ā€” Sam Altman (@sama) March 30, 2025
Rate limits
Altman introduced rate limits amid high demand
In the wake of overwhelming demand, Altman announced plans to temporarily introduce some rate limits on free tier, while working on making the service more efficient.
"It's super fun seeing people love images in ChatGPT but our GPUs are melting," he said.
This suggests that the current surge in image generation requests is putting a significant strain on OpenAI's computational resources.