Thousands of people are experiencing issues using Microsoft Outlook and OpenAI on Monday, Aug. 31, according to the outage tracker website Downdetector.
Downdetector began receiving reports of issues just before noon ET, with the peak of reports seen around 12:15 p.m., when more than 6,000 people reported problems using Microsoft Outlook. Most users, 38%, had issues receiving emails, while other complaints included disruptions to the app and logging in.
In a post on X, Microsoft said it was working on problems with its "Exchange Online" product.
"We've confirmed that users may experience degraded functionality with various Exchange Online functionalities. We're reviewing service telemetry and diagnostic data to isolate the source of the issue,"
Microsoft said at around 12:40 p.m. ET.
OpenAI, ChatGPT also disrupted
Microsoft’s outage comes as thousands also reported problems using OpenAI on Monday afternoon. According to Downdetector, the peak of reports came at around 1:19 p.m. ET, when nearly 1,500 users had problems using the website.
The majority of OpenAI users, 90%, had issues using ChatGPT specifically.
"ChatGPT Work isn't working right now. Sorry about that, we're working on a fix!" the official ChatGPT account on X, formerly Twitter, posted at 2:30 p.m. ET.
ChatGPT Work isn't working right now.
— ChatGPT (@ChatGPT) August 31, 2026
Sorry about that, we're working on a fix!
Both services saw a decline in reported outages beginning around 2:30 p.m. ET, though complaints about Outlook remained as high as 4,382 reports just after 3 p.m. ET. OpenAI seemed to resolve more quickly, with just 588 reported outages around 3:06 p.m. ET.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Microsoft Outlook down? Thousands reporting issues Aug. 31
