Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Here’s why ChatGPT might be ‘at capacity’ for you

AI-powered ChatGPT has recently been frustrating a sizable number of potential new users due to its own popularity, resulting in a very common “at capacity” notice that many people are facing.

Unfortunately, right now, you have to wait it out or come back at a time when fewer people are using it. You could also try out an alternative, such as Microsoft Copilot.

ChatGPT and OpenAI logos.
OpenAI

OpenAI’s breakout chatbot star ChatGPT (released in November 2022) uses machine learning to generate responses from questions or queries entered by users. It’s been blowing people’s mind the amazing things you can do with ChatGPT, while also raising a series of ethical problems that everyone is talking about.

Recommended Videos

But more recently, the biggest issue has been access. From time to time, we see reports from those who wanted to create a new account or access ChatGPT, but couldn’t due to traffic congestion.

What visitors see in this situation is a message (or a variant thereof) that reads: “Chat GPT is at capacity right now.” Basically, that indicates that the website is in high demand and has reached its capacity for users per session and/or query load. The servers powering ChatGPT are very expensive to run, and OpenAI appears to have some limits on that usage.

Amusingly, instead of canned messages, ChatGPT doles out creative ways to relay its at-capacity status. Some people have seen the chatbot communicate in limerick rhymes, a rap, and even in pirate-speak. While the crashes are frustrating, at least visitors find the messages entertaining.

At the time or writing, I had no trouble creating a new account and/or chatting away, but if you’re facing this error, the solution is quite simple: You just need to wait. Just click on the “get notified” link, enter your email address, and you should get an email when it’s reached your place in line.

Beyond that, ChatGPT has a premium tier, ChatGPT Plus. This paid tier promises better access and faster responses, from $20 per month. This is a way for OpenAI to monetize the chatbot and give prioritized access to paid subscribers.

ChatGPT ‘at capacity’ workaround

You might still need to wait for ChatGPT to become available, but there’s a workaround you can try. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can sometimes get past ChatGPT’s restrictions and allow you to use the service (we have a roundup of the best VPNs if you’re interested in trying).

It may not work for you, though. The reason a VPN might work is that it gives you a fresh session with ChatGPT and moves your virtual location. With a new session and location, ChatGPT could give you access.

You can also try using a different browser or a device, or flushing your browser’s cache. If you’ve been stuck on the “at capacity” page for a while, it’s possible you’re seeing a cached version of the website.

Finally, you can move away from ChatGPT altogether. There are several excellent AI chatbots you can use instead.

Aaron Leong
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Aaron enjoys all manner of tech - from mobile (phones/smartwear), audio (headphones/earbuds), computing (gaming/Chromebooks)…
You can now view all of your ChatGPT-generated images in one place
ChatGPT library promotion video.

OpenAI did text generation and image generation separately for quite a while, but that all changed a couple of weeks ago when it added image capabilities directly into ChatGPT. Now, a small but powerful Quality of Life update gives users access to an image library where they can see all of the insane things they've created.

https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/1912255254512722102

Read more
ChatGPT can now remember more details from your past conversations
ChatGPT on a laptop

OpenAI has just announced that ChatGPT received a major upgrade to its memory features. The chatbot will now be able to remember a lot more about you, making it easier to personalize each conversation and adapt its responses. However, the feature won't be available to everyone, and there are a few things to note about the way memory will work now.

The company showed off the new update in a post on X (Twitter), giving a brief demo of how much ChatGPT can remember now. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT can now "reference all of your past chats to provide more personalized responses." Previously, only certain things were saved in memory, but now, ChatGPT can check out every single chat to reference what it knows about you in future conversations.

Read more
OpenAI might start watermarking ChatGPT images — but only for free users
OpenAI press image

Everyone has been talking about ChatGPT's new image-generation feature lately, and it seems the excitement isn't over yet. As always, people have been poking around inside the company's apps and this time, they've found mentions of a watermark feature for generated images.

Spotted by X user Tibor Blaho, the line of code image_gen_watermark_for_free seems to suggest that the feature would only slap watermarks on images generated by free users -- giving them yet another incentive to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Read more