Microsoft’s Bing search engine & API suffered an outage today, causing ripple effects beyond its platform. While Bing’s search functionality seems partially restored, its underlying API remains down, impacting a growing number of services.
The outage crippled alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, which rely on Bing’s results. Microsoft’s AI coding assistant, Copilot, also went offline. Even paid subscribers to ChatGPT’s web search feature were met with errors.
This incident underscores the web’s increasing dependence on a select few tech giants. When a single API goes down, a domino effect disrupts numerous services. Notably, the outage highlights Bing’s rising influence. While Google remains the search leader, Bing’s API is quietly becoming crucial for various applications.
Microsoft has yet to comment on the cause of the outage.
