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ZDNET's key takeaways
Google released energy and water consumption estimates for its Gemini AI apps.
It is the first major tech company to publish this information.
Estimates are lower than public calculations, but industry-wide usage is still unclear.
AI demand is rapidly accelerating, which means the infrastructure that makes it possible -- data centers and the power plants that supply them -- is expanding, too. The lack of concrete data around exactly how much energy AI uses has created concern and debate about how that demand is impacting the environment. New data from Google hopes to change that.
Also: How much energy does AI really use? The answer is surprising - and a little complicated
In an industry first, the company published estimates on its Gemini chatbot's energy usage and emissions. The average Gemini text prompt uses "0.24 watt-hours (Wh) of energy, emits 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (gCO2e), and consumes 0.26 milliliters (or about five drops) of water," Google said Thursday, comparing the per-prompt impact to "watching TV for less than nine seconds."
Of course, that's just one average prompt. Google estimated Gemini had 350 million monthly users in March (almost half of ChatGPT user estimates); depending on how many are querying Gemini at any given moment, what enterprise clients are using the chatbot for, and power users sending more complex prompts, those seconds can add up.
Google published a framework for tracking the emissions, energy, and water use of its Gemini apps, saying its findings are "substantially lower than many public estimates" of the resources AI consumes. For more details on the findings, keep reading.
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