In a first, Google has released data on how much energy an AI prompt uses
Summary
Google released a technical report detailing the energy (0.24 Wh), water (0.26 ml), and carbon (0.03g CO2) costs of a median Gemini text prompt.
Key quotes
the median prompt—one that falls in the middle of the range of energy demand—consumes 0.24 watt-hours of electricity
the AI chips—in this case, Google’s custom TPUs... account for just 58% of the total electricity demand
The median Gemini prompt used 33 times more energy in May 2024 than it did in May 2025
The report breaks down energy consumption across hardware, including TPUs, CPUs, memory, idle backup machines, and data center overhead. It notes that reasoning models and complex inputs (e.g., multiple books) exceed median energy costs.