AI Assistant Will Not Load, Sign In, or Respond
Symptoms
The AI page may stay blank, show a loading spinner, return a network or server error, repeatedly request sign-in, fail after MFA, accept a prompt but never answer, or disconnect partway through a response. A single symptom can have several causes, including a provider outage, expired browser session, blocked cookies, damaged cached data, an extension conflict, a network filter, or an account permission issue. Troubleshoot without weakening security or exposing work information.
Safe steps
- Record the exact error and approximate time. Note whether the problem affects loading, sign-in, prompt submission, or response generation. Do not copy a sensitive prompt into your notes or ticket.
- Check the provider's official status page by navigating from the provider's known website. A status dashboard can confirm a broad incident. If an incident is posted, wait for the official update rather than repeatedly signing in or changing security settings.
- Confirm that ordinary websites load. If nothing loads, reconnect through your normal network process. If only the AI service fails, continue below. Do not move restricted work to a personal device, public Wi-Fi, or unapproved AI service.
- Verify the address carefully. Open the service from a saved company bookmark or approved portal, not a link from an unexpected message or search advertisement. A lookalike sign-in page can steal credentials.
- Close the affected tab, open a new tab, and try once. If the service is stuck after prompt submission, wait briefly before resending. Repeated submissions may create duplicate work or make the symptoms harder to diagnose.
- Sign out using the service menu, close the browser, reopen it, and sign in through the approved route. Complete MFA only in the normal prompt. Never share an MFA code with a person, chatbot, or support ticket.
- Try a private browsing window. If the service works there, cached data, cookies, or an extension may be involved. Google explains that clearing cache and cookies can fix loading or formatting problems, but it can also sign you out and remove saved site preferences.
- Clear site data only for the affected service if your browser permits it. Restart the browser and test with a short, non-sensitive prompt such as “Reply with the word test.” Avoid clearing all browser data unless support directs you, because it can disrupt other signed-in services.
- Temporarily disable only nonessential browser extensions that you recognize, then retest. Re-enable them afterward. Do not disable endpoint security, certificate checks, web filtering, VPN requirements, or device management.
- Try another organization-approved browser or device. If one works and another does not, capture the browser name, version, and device type for support. If sign-in says access is denied, stop troubleshooting and request an account or permission check.
What not to do
Do not reveal passwords, MFA codes, recovery codes, session cookies, or tokens. Do not install a “fix” from a pop-up, change DNS settings, disable antivirus, bypass the company network, or use a personal account. Do not paste the failed confidential prompt into another public tool. Do not keep retrying a sign-in that you did not initiate.
When to escalate
Open a support ticket if the official status page shows no incident and the problem persists across a restart or approved browser, if access is denied, or if only your account is affected. Report urgently if you entered credentials on a suspicious page, received unexpected MFA prompts, saw another user's chat, or believe private data appeared.
What to include in a ticket
Provide the service name, official page address, date and time with time zone, exact error text, affected action, browser and version, device type, network location such as office or remote, and the safe steps already tried. State whether coworkers are affected without naming them unnecessarily. Attach a redacted screenshot if useful. Never attach prompts, chat exports, passwords, MFA codes, secrets, customer data, health data, financial data, source code, contracts, or confidential documents.