ChatGPT Uses 10x More Energy Than Google Search

It turns out that OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, doesn’t consume as much energy as we originally thought. However, a recent study shows that its energy consumption depends on how it’s used and which AI models handle the questions.

The non-profit AI research institute, Epoch AI conducted an investigation to figure out the average energy consumption of a ChatGPT query. According to one commonly cited statistic, ChatGPT uses around 3 watt-hours of energy per query, which is about ten times more than a Google search.

Epoch discovered that the typical ChatGPT query uses only 0.3 watt hours, which is less than the energy consumption of many home appliances, using OpenAI’s most recent default model for ChatGPT, GPT-4o, as a reference. 

A group of more than 100 organizations released an open letter urging the AI industry and regulators to make sure that new AI data centres don’t deplete natural resources and force utilities to rely on non-renewable sources of energy. The energy consumption of AI—and its environmental impact in general—is a hotly debated topic as AI companies seek to quickly expand their infrastructure footprints. 

To put things in perspective, 0.3 watt-hours is less electricity than a laptop or an LED lightbulb uses in a few minutes. Furthermore, ChatGPT’s energy costs will be a negligible portion of a developed country resident’s total electricity use, even for heavy chat users. In the United States, the average household consumes 10,500 kWh of power per year, which is equivalent to more than 28,000 watt-hours each day. 

It is believed that training and inference for future models may consume much more energy than using ChatGPT today. 

Google Search has long been the most popular way to find information, and with the development of artificial intelligence, ChatGPT has become another popular tool for getting things done. According to a report, they are expensive, particularly when it comes to AI, but they provide fast solutions to our questions. 

A year of ChatGPT use may use enough energy to power Nigeria for four months and New Zealand for three months, according to the Economic Times. This number illustrates the impact of AI on the environment.