Why Does Open AI Say Global Rate Limit Exceeded?
It is genuinely a big bummer when you are using one of OpenAI’s programs such as Chat GPT or even GPT-3 only to get an error saying “Global Rate limit exceeded.”
However, this error is not too different from the one you may encounter when there is too much traffic (requests) on the website.
As you may know, apps and websites use servers to not only process and hold user’s data/information but the server is also responsible for processing and responding to requests, which is essentially any action you may take on the website, whether it is signing in or making a query to an AI chatbot such as Chat GPT.
The request is then sent to the server so that it can be both processed and responded to by allowing the action.
In the scenario that there are too many requests being made to the server, it can result in OpenAI’s website encountering what is essentially an overload error, which is quite similar to when you have too many people talking to you at once and you may grow frustrated and eventually “snap” or shutdown.
Now, when OpenAI’s website shows you the error “Global rate limit exceeded,” it simply means that there are too many API (Application Programming Interface) requests being sent and are also being sent much too quickly.
This error can also mean that you have reached your assigned limit for tokens or requests being sent in that span of time. Tokens can be compared to word fragments that are used in natural language processing.
A token in English text is roughly 4 characters long, or 0.75 words or for better understanding, one could say 1,000 tokens is approximately 750 words. This also applies to “Playground” usage with OpenAI’s software, as it also has a token limit that can reach a point of exceeding.
Requests may consume up to 4,097 tokens divided between the prompt and completion, depending on the model being utilized. Your completion can be 97 tokens at most if your prompt is 4,000 tokens.
Another common message you’ll see when using ChatGPT that’s similar to what causes the Global Rate Limit Exceeded message is Something Went Wrong, Whoa There! You Might Need to Wait a Bit, or High Demand.
1. You’ve Made Too Many Requests
This error can also mean that you have reached your assigned limit for tokens or requests being sent in that span of time. Tokens can be compared to word fragments that are used in natural language processing.
A token in English text is roughly 4 characters long, or 0.75 words or for better understanding, one could say 1,000 tokens is approximately 750 words. This also applies to “Playground” usage with OpenAI’s software, as it also has a token limit that can reach a point of exceeding.
Requests may consume up to 4,097 tokens divided between the prompt and completion, depending on the model being utilized. Your completion can be 97 tokens at most if your prompt is 4,000 tokens.
With this in mind, you can see how you may have made too many requests to OpenAI’s server or have simply exceeded your limit of tokens or requests that can be sent, which can result in OpenAI blocking you from sending any more requests.
In such a scenario, you will also receive the “Global rate limit exceeded” error prompt, which only makes sense since there is a request limit that is set for each user.
Tip: If this error means you can’t log into chatgpt, there are a few other fixes you can try.
Fix – Wait A Few Hours
When you encounter this “Global Rate limit exceeded” error, most of the time the best thing you can do is give it time, preferably a couple of hours.
It should be noted that you can also opt for a paid plan by entering your billing information if you have reached or exceeded the number of free tokens on OpenAI’s websites such as Chat GPT or GPT-3.
If you wait a few hours, it can provide ample time for the tokens to possibly begin regenerating and for the exceeded limit error to clear.
This is because when you receive the “global rate limit exceeded” error, it is essentially the website telling you to slow your roll.
When you give the website a couple of hours, you are slowing down your requests and also providing time for the website/program to catch up with the requests you have made.
2. There Has Been A Temporarily Glitch
It is also feasible that there has been a temporary glitch, which is not uncommon for any website or even application.
Even though OpenAI has come out with some certainly high-tech websites and programs, they are all still part of technology and any form of technology is susceptible to errors, glitches, and malfunctions.
With this in mind, you certainly could have received the “global rate limit exceeded” error due to a glitch on the website. This even applies to the “Playground” usage of OpenAI’s software.
Fix – Refresh the Page
Sometimes fixing a glitch on a website is as simple as refreshing the webpage. The processing of the page begins as soon as the browser sends a request to the server.
The server keeps working on the request even if the user stops it or cancels it. When a user reloads or refreshes the page, a second request is made and is processed concurrently with the initial request.
The server does not actively look to see if the user has terminated the connection, not even in the case of PHP. When the server tries to return the request’s results, it is when it realizes the request has been aborted.
It is a disconnected environment on the internet. The server has no knowledge of the browser. The server simply knows that a request has been made and that it needs to be fulfilled.
So, when you refresh the webpage, you are essentially requesting that the server responds with the most up-to-date version of that webpage, which can clear many glitches.
3. Their Server is Down
Whenever you encounter an issue online whether when you are only attempting to reach a website or you are using a website, you should also consider the website server as a possible cause of the problem at hand.
Servers go down all of the time, which is why there is typically a designated error code for the said server downtime. However, this does not always mean that the error code will show on the website or that you will be notified of the server going down.
There are many possible reasons why a server might go down from maintenance, a power outage, or even an IP card overload.
Unfortunately, when a server for a website goes down, the website will almost always be rendered useless for that period of time.
This very well could be what is happening with Chat GPT and the cursor blinking is a good indicator that the webpage is attempting to load in what you are attempting.
Luckily, issues that cause a server to go down are typically resolved in a short amount of time. The server for the OpenAI website should be back up in no more than 20 minutes maximum.
Fix – Wait for Their Server Issue to Fix
Unfortunately, when a server for a website goes down, the website will almost always be rendered useless for that period of time.
This very well could be what is happening with OpenAI’s website and the limit exceeded error is a good indicator that the webpage is attempting to load in what you are attempting.
Luckily, issues that cause a server to go down are typically resolved in a short amount of time. The server for the OpenAI website should be back up in no more than 20 minutes maximum.
4. There’s An Issue With the Browser
It is very possible that your browser could be the one to blame when you encounter an error such as the “Global rate limit exceeded” one.
Almost any browser can experience latency (slow performance), crashes, and or loading issues. This could very well be what is causing the ChatGPT site to show you the message reading, “We’re experiencing exceptionally high demand.”
Since the browser is responsible for requesting, showing, and loading the website, you do not want your browser stirring trouble with your internet browsing.
Fix – Use Another Browser
If you believe that your browser is what is causing issues with OpenAI’s website, you will want to switch to another browser.
So, if you are using Google’s Chrome browser, you can switch over to Safari or vice versa. When you do this, it could fix the issues that you are experiencing.
This could also provide enough time in between switching for the server to resolve the request overload problem and come back up (online).