A ChatGPT query uses about ten times as much electricity as a Google search.
The ten-to-one comparison rests on a 2023 estimate of about 3 Wh per ChatGPT request. A 2025 analysis puts a typical GPT-4o request near 0.3 Wh, OpenAI's chief executive gives 0.34 Wh, and Google measures 0.24 Wh for a median Gemini text prompt. Those figures are close to the long-quoted number for a search. Estimates depend on model, response length and what is counted.
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Updated 11 Oct 2026