Ever said “Please” or “Thank you” to ChatGPT? That small act of politeness is racking up a pretty big bill for OpenAI. But CEO Sam Altman is so chill and isn’t mad about it. He called it money well spent. Millions of dollars well spent It all started when a user (tomie) on X (formerly Twitter) joked about how much electricity OpenAI might be burning to process polite phrases.
Altman jumped in and confirmed the cost: “Tens of millions of dollars well spent.”
He added cryptically: “You never know.” The unexpected cost of being nice
Here’s the deal: Every message you send to ChatGPT is processed by powerful servers in huge data centers. These machines eat up a lot of energy, both to run and to stay cool.
So when users add extra words like “Please,” “Thank you,” or “Have a great day,” they’re actually using more computing power than needed. Why do we even say “Please” to a robot Even though ChatGPT isn’t a real person, many people talk to it like it is. It feels natural to be polite — and in some ways, that’s a good thing. It shows just how closely AI is starting to blend into our everyday lives.
A simple “thank you” might not matter to the bot, but it can make the interaction feel a little more human. Some say it’s simple One user suggested a quick fix: “This could be solved with a bit of client-side code that just auto-replies with ‘you’re welcome’.”
While technically true, that kind of misses the point.
OpenAI seems more interested in keeping the experience smooth, natural, and a bit… well, human. Premium users pay for politeness, too If you’re a ChatGPT Plus subscriber, each word you type (and receive) counts toward your usage. So yes — those polite extras may be costing you a bit, too.
Altman’s response suggests they care about how people feel when using AI, even if it costs a little more.
So next time you feel like saying “Thank you” to ChatGPT — go for it. You’re part of what makes AI feel a little more like a conversation and a little less like typing into a machine.
