Some people believe politeness is outdated, but OpenAI CEO Sam Altman doesn’t seem to mind paying a high price for it. Responding to a question recently, Altman said that when users type "please" and "thank you" while chatting with ChatGPT, it costs OpenAI a lot of money.

That's because those polite phrases make ChatGPT generate longer, more detailed responses, which means more electricity and more computing power. Altman shared that it adds up to tens of millions of dollars, but the company is okay with it. They’re happy to pay the price for kindness in conversation.

An X (formerly Twitter) user asked a fun question, how much electricity does OpenAI use just to handle people saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman replied, saying it’s costing the company tens of millions of dollars in electricity bills. Still, he added that the money is “well spent.” He even hinted that the actual cost could be higher, saying, “You never know.” So yes, politeness to AI isn’t free, but OpenAI doesn’t seem to mind paying for those extra kind words.

Why do these words cost so much?

It’s because every polite reply from ChatGPT is powered by supercomputers running in big data centres. These centres use a lot of electricity, not just to answer your questions, but also to keep all the machines cool so they don’t overheat.

As more people use AI every day, it’s putting more pressure on these energy-hungry systems. Sam Altman’s comments are a reminder that even small chats or fun memes with AI come with a hidden environmental cost. Every message taps into powerful computers working nonstop all over the world.

Why is OpenAI ready to pay the price?

Even though it’s costing OpenAI a lot of money to process polite phrases like “please” and “thank you,” CEO Sam Altman hasn’t asked people to stop. In fact, he called it "money well spent.” But why is that?

While it may seem silly to be polite to a chatbot, experts say it actually makes a difference. According to Kurtis Beavers, a design manager at Microsoft, using good manners helps the AI respond in a more respectful and helpful way. In short, the tone you use can shape the tone you get back.

Think of AI as a super-smart version of your phone’s autocomplete. It’s not really “thinking,” but predicting what to say next based on how you interact with it. A memo from Microsoft’s WorkLab explains that when AI detects politeness, it’s more likely to respond politely. It also tends to match the level of professionalism and detail in your prompt, the better you talk to it, the better it replies.

 

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