Massive Outage Hits Microsoft Bing, Copilot, and DuckDuckGo: What’s the Cause and How Long Will It Last?

Microsoft’s Bing Search engine, along with its AI-powered tools like Copilot, experienced significant global outages, impacting thousands of users worldwide. The disruptions began around 3 AM EDT and have affected multiple regions, primarily Asia and Europe. Users reported problems accessing Bing, DuckDuckGo, and even ChatGPT’s web search feature, all of which rely on Bing’s API.

The outages were first flagged by users on platforms like Downdetector.com. Reports indicated that the issues affected various functionalities, including Bing Search, Microsoft Copilot, and the DALL-E-powered Bing Image Creator tool.

Users attempting to visit Bing.com encountered either a grey screen or error messages stating, “Bing isn’t available right now, but everything should be back to normal very soon.”

Additionally, Copilot, integrated into Microsoft Office and Windows, was stuck on a loading screen, eventually displaying an error message indicating an inability to connect.

According to Downdetector, the majority of reported issues (55%) were with Bing’s website, while 30% were related to search functionalities, and 5% involved login problems.

This outage also hit DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, alternative search engines that depend on Bing’s search results. Users across the United States and India were particularly vocal about the disruptions, with over 2,000 reports from the US alone.

TechCrunch highlighted that the problem seemed rooted in Bing’s API, which affected all services dependent on it.

Users trying to perform web searches via ChatGPT Plus faced similar difficulties. The outage underscored the dependency of various tech services on Bing’s infrastructure, revealing a significant vulnerability in the web’s current architecture where a disruption in one service can cascade to multiple others.

As of now, Microsoft has not issued a formal statement explaining the cause of the outage or providing a timeline for resolution.

OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, confirmed issues with its internet search feature, which uses Bing, and posted an update on its support page.

While Bing’s main homepage faced significant issues, users could still perform searches by directly accessing specific URLs, although Copilot remained offline across all platforms.

Users expressed frustration over the downtime, especially those relying on these services for daily tasks. The inability to access Bing and Copilot forced many to switch to Google for their search needs.

The error messages varied, with some users seeing a blank page or a 429 HTTP code error, which typically signifies too many requests from a single user.

This incident has highlighted the critical role of robust infrastructure in AI and search technologies. The reliance on APIs like Bing’s for multiple services exposes a single point of failure, which can have wide-reaching implications. As AI continues to integrate deeper into everyday tools and services, ensuring uptime and reliability becomes increasingly crucial.