The $10 Million Manners Tax Hiding in Your ChatGPT Chats

Every “please” and “thank you” you type into ChatGPT isn’t just polite – it’s literally burning cash. When a Twitter user casually wondered about the cost of our AI etiquette, Sam Altman dropped a bombshell: those niceties have cost OpenAI tens of millions in electricity.

“Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know.”

Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO

Why Your Grandma’s Manners Are Costing More Than You Think

This isn’t just about wasted electrons. There’s a psychological arms race happening in every AI interaction:

• Every extra character costs money – 7 letters in “please” × millions of users = serious cash
• AI mirrors your tone – Polite prompts trigger longer, more elaborate responses
• We’re training the machines to expect niceties – Creating a feedback loop of verbosity

The Counterintuitive Truth About AI Etiquette

Microsoft’s Copilot design director Kurt Beavers revealed the dirty secret:

“Using polite language sets a tone for the response. When an AI model clocks politeness, it’s more likely to be polite back.”

Kurt Beavers, Microsoft Copilot Design Director

Your Move, Power User

Here’s the million-dollar question (literally): Do we keep burning cash for civility, or evolve new AI communication norms? The most powerful users already know:

• Precision beats politeness – Clear, concise prompts get better results
• Every character has a cost – Both for your wallet and the planet
• The future belongs to efficient communicators – As AI scales, so does the cost of wasted words

The bottom line? Your mother was right about manners – but in the AI age, efficiency might be the new politeness.