Microsoft is working to resolve a major global outage that has disrupted several of its services, affecting tens of thousands of users worldwide. The disruption has affected key platforms, including Teams, Outlook and the company’s artificial intelligence tool, Copilot, with users experiencing connectivity problems.
In a series of updates on X, Microsoft said it was making progress in restoring the affected services, reporting “positive results” from its recovery efforts. The company said it was working urgently to address the issue. According to monitoring website Downdetector, reports of problems with Outlook peaked at nearly 140,000 globally at around 18:00 GMT on Thursday.
The BBC reported that there was no indication the outage had been caused by a cyberattack. The disruption has affected Microsoft 365, a widely used productivity platform that provides businesses and organisations with access to workplace tools such as Outlook, Teams and OneDrive. The services play a crucial role in enabling employees and international teams to communicate and collaborate across different locations.
Microsoft said affected users might experience difficulties accessing certain files and calendar information. Its AI assistant, Copilot, could also fail to function properly. However, the company noted that messaging and online meetings remained largely operational. Explaining the cause of the disruption, Microsoft said several servers had become “unexpectedly unavailable”, placing additional pressure on the remaining systems.
“We appreciate our customers’ patience while we work to restore services as soon as possible,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. The company later cautioned that some services which had been restored could become unresponsive again, warning that customers in any region could experience further disruptions. Users across several countries, including the United States, Japan and Singapore, have reported difficulties accessing Microsoft’s services.
AI companies feel the impact
The outage has impacted several companies, including AI giants Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which rely on Microsoft’s systems. OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, announced it is investigating an issue related to its connections with Microsoft’s services, which has caused some of its tools to malfunction.
Last month, Microsoft reported an outage of its Azure cloud platform, affecting its suite of productivity tools and numerous companies worldwide. Electric truck manufacturer Workhorse Group, which was scheduled to report its third-quarter results on November 12, has postponed the announcement to November 16 due to business disruptions caused by the global Microsoft outage.
