Sam Altman reveals how much saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ to ChatGPT really costs

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that the use of polite language in interactions with ChatGPT, such as saying “please” and “thank you,” incurs tangible financial and environmental costs. Responding to a question on X (formerly Twitter), Altman confirmed that these courteous expressions contribute to tens of millions of dollars in electricity costs annually.

While the comment may have been partially in jest, it spotlighted the real computational demands associated with user interactions—even those intended to reflect human politeness.