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Source reviewedOperational incidentMedium

ChatGPT Work experienced elevated errors and latency for more than five hours

OpenAI reported elevated errors and latency in ChatGPT Work, including a period when Work mode was unavailable and users on multiple plans could not start or continue tasks.

First observed
Aug 31, 2026, 5:04:53 PM
Disclosed
Aug 31, 2026, 5:04:53 PM
Status
Resolved
Confidence
99%
Organization
OpenAI
Last reviewed
Sep 4, 2026

Observed

Facts supported by sources

  • OpenAI reported elevated errors and latency affecting ChatGPT Work, including a period when Work mode was unavailable.
  • The status incident ran from 15:04 UTC to 20:28 UTC on August 31 and stated that users on multiple plans were unable to start or continue tasks during the disruption.

Assessment

Interpretation, not observation

  • OpenAI did not publish a root cause on the status page reviewed for this run.

Impact

Impact

Interrupted agentic work sessions and failed task starts for affected ChatGPT users.

Response

Response

OpenAI identified the issue, applied a mitigation, monitored recovery and reported full service restoration.

Methodology: Facts, interpretations, and uncertainty are kept separate. Confidence describes the strength of the evidence, not a probability estimate.