ChatGPT Politeness Is Costing OpenAI Millions

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that polite phrases like “please” and “thank you” in user conversations with AI chatbots are costing the company millions.

Responding to a question on X about how much electricity OpenAI has lost to courteous language, Altman replied, “tens of millions of dollars well spent,” adding, “You never know.”

OpenAI is not alone in overspending on “social courtesy fines.” Users of ChatGPT’s paid plans are billed based on word count, meaning those using polite language end up paying more than users who don’t.

Altman’s remark, while lighthearted, stopped short of discouraging polite exchanges in conversations with AI chatbots. That suggests the ChatGPT maker values a human touch in AI interactions, even at the expense of profits and the environment.

Microsoft seems to agree. Design manager Kurtis Beavers said the social courtesy in AI conversations “helps generate respectful, collaborative outputs,” adding, “Using polite language sets a tone for the response.”

A Microsoft WorkLab memo stated, “When it clocks politeness, it’s more likely to be polite back,” and that “Generative AI also mirrors the levels of professionalism, clarity, and detail in the prompts you provide.”

Despite being non-sentient, many users treat AI tools with social courtesy as they would other humans. One survey found that 67% of US respondents reported being kind to AI chatbots. Of those, more than half said ”it’s the right thing to do,” while 12% cited fear, just in case AI takes over the world.

Altman’s response also points to the environmental consequences of polite exchanges and using AI in general. Large language models rely on data centers that consume massive amounts of electricity for both processing and cooling.

Currently, data centers powering AI chatbots already use about 2% of the world’s energy consumption. That figure is expected to skyrocket as AI becomes more prevalent in everyday life.