OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is facing significant capacity issues due to the overwhelming demand for its latest AI-powered image-generation tool. As a result, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned that product launches may be delayed, services may experience slowdowns, and occasional disruptions are likely.
What’s Causing the Delays?
ChatGPT’s new image-generation capabilities, which have drawn attention for their ability to mimic distinctive artistic styles—such as Studio Ghibli’s hand-drawn animations—have been an instant hit. However, the surge in usage has outpaced OpenAI’s ability to scale its infrastructure quickly enough.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Altman acknowledged that the company has been struggling to keep up since launching the new feature. Over the weekend, OpenAI’s team reportedly worked late nights to maintain service, yet demand continues to outstrip their available resources.
Unprecedented Growth
ChatGPT’s user base has skyrocketed in recent months. Altman revealed that within a single hour on Monday, the platform gained a million new users. The chatbot now boasts an impressive 500 million weekly users, with 20 million of them being paying subscribers—a sharp rise from the 300 million users and 15.5 million paying customers reported at the end of 2024.
Temporary Measures to Address Overload
To manage the strain on its systems, OpenAI has implemented temporary restrictions:
– Delayed Access for Free Users: The highly sought-after image-generation tool has been temporarily withheld from free-tier users to reduce demand.
– Limited Access to Video Generation: Sora, OpenAI’s AI-driven video generation tool, has also had its access limited for new users while the company works to stabilize performance.
What’s Next for OpenAI?
Altman assured users that OpenAI is working “as fast as possible” to resolve these challenges and improve system stability. While these temporary measures may be frustrating for some users, they are necessary to ensure long-term reliability as OpenAI continues to push the boundaries of AI-driven content creation.
For now, users should expect occasional slowdowns, delays in new feature rollouts, and temporary restrictions—but OpenAI remains committed to expanding its capabilities to meet growing demand.
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
— Sam Altman (@sama) March 30, 2025
