Is Google down? Thousands of users report Search outage, server errors

Thousands of users across India on May 12 reported issues accessing Google Search, with many facing error messages, blank pages and search results failing to load properly.

Many users reported seeing the following error message while trying to use the service:

“Server Error. We’re sorry, but it appears that there has been an internal server error while processing your request. Our engineers have been notified and are working to resolve the issue. Please try again later.”

According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, complaints surged sharply around 10:29 AM IST, with reports crossing 3,700 at the peak of the disruption. By around 11:30 AM, around 155 users flagged issues on the platform.

Most complaints were linked directly to Google Search, while several users also reported problems with loading pages and accessing the website itself.

Downdetector data showed that 56% of the reported problems were related to Search, 26% were linked to content not loading, and 14% were tied to website access issues.

Social media platforms were soon flooded with screenshots of the error page, while memes comparing the outage to a global emergency quickly began circulating online.

For several users, the disruption appeared temporary. The exact reason behind the outage remains unclear at the time of writing.