The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, recently revealed a surprising truth about what really happens when you interact with artificial intelligence—and how being polite to AI comes with a hefty price tag. While many users chat with AI like ChatGPT cautiously, some even minding their manners out of habit or fear of a future robot takeover, Altman highlighted that these polite interactions actually cost the company millions in electricity bills.
Altman took to X (formerly Twitter) to respond to a user’s quip about how much money OpenAI loses due to people saying “please” and “thank you” to the AI models.
He replied, “tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know.” This sparked a debate on whether politeness to chatbots really matters.
Some argue there’s no point in showing respect to an AI, while others believe maintaining polite language influences the AI’s responses. Microsoft’s design manager Kurtis Beavers emphasized that respectful language helps generate more collaborative and courteous outputs. A Microsoft WorkLab memo also noted that when the AI detects politeness, it’s more likely to respond politely in return.
A Tech Radar survey found that two-thirds of Americans admit to being nice to chatbots—55% say it’s simply the right thing to do, while 12% do so out of fear of a possible robot uprising.
Despite the current AI models not being truly “intelligent” in the human sense, hundreds of millions worldwide rely on them for daily tasks. The environmental cost of these interactions is staggering: the Washington Post reported that generating a 100-word email once a week for a year uses about 7.5 kWh of electricity—equivalent to the hourly power consumption of nine households in Washington, D.C.
Altman’s comments serve as a reminder that even our seemingly small habits when talking to AI have real-world impacts, with chatbots currently accounting for about 2% of global energy use. So next time you say “please” or “thank you” to your AI assistant, know that your politeness is powering a costly—and complex—machine behind the scenes.
