ChatGPT has become a widely used tool for writing, research, coding, customer service, and more.As more people integrate AI into their daily routines, the way we communicate with tools like ChatGPT is evolving. A growing number of users still use human-like politeness in prompts, saying “thank you” and “please” to the AI assistant. But this habit may be causing more harm than good. In fact, one key reason why we should not say thank you and please to ChatGPT is that it contributes to unnecessary token usage, which in turn drives up infrastructure costs — a concern highlighted by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who revealed that ChatGPT’s operations cost millions of dollars each day.
According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, interactions with ChatGPT cost millions of dollars daily in computing power — and polite, unnecessary prompts may be playing a role.
Why Saying Thank You and Please to ChatGPT May Be Inefficient
ChatGPT is not a human. It does not possess feelings, consciousness, or the ability to appreciate courtesy. Despite this, users often write prompts that mimic human dialogue, including redundant words like “please” or “thank you.”
Keyphrase Use: Why We Should Not Say Thank You and Please to ChatGPT
When users add pleasantries, it may:
- Lengthen the prompt without adding context
- Require the model to process more data
- Trigger a longer, less efficient response
- Result in unnecessary resource consumption
In short, more words = more tokens = higher compute usage.
The Hidden Cost of Every ChatGPT Interaction
During a public interview at a developer conference, Sam Altman revealed that each ChatGPT query consumes substantial compute resources. In fact, operating ChatGPT and other AI models costs OpenAI millions of dollars every single day.
The underlying reason? Every token — or word fragment — must be processed through expensive infrastructure, including GPUs and energy-hungry servers.
Why Saying Thank You and Please to ChatGPT May Be Costly
According to Altman’s own comments, even small increases in prompt length have an exponential effect on backend costs. Saying “thank you” in every request may seem polite, but multiplied by millions of users globally, it turns into thousands of dollars of extra processing daily.
Token Usage and Model Efficiency
Every character, word, and punctuation mark counts as a “token” for AI models like GPT-4. These tokens determine:
- The compute workload required
- The processing time per response
- The total number of responses per second OpenAI can handle
Subheading with Synonym: Why Avoiding Extra Words in AI Prompts Improves Performance
Trimming polite but functionally unnecessary words helps:
- Reduce server strain
- Improve latency for all users
- Conserve energy and reduce carbon footprint
- Lower operating expenses
This is not about discouraging good manners — it’s about improving AI performance, sustainability, and accessibility.
How Users Can Interact More Efficiently with ChatGPT
Instead of saying:
“Hi ChatGPT, could you please help me write a blog on AI in healthcare? Thank you.”
Try this:
“Write a blog on AI in healthcare.”
The revised version:
- Gets to the point
- Saves tokens
- Returns a faster response
- Lowers cumulative system load
This method is not just efficient for individual users — it scales globally to make the entire AI ecosystem more sustainable.
FAQs About Saying Thank You and Please to ChatGPT
Q1: Is it rude not to say thank you to ChatGPT?
Not at all. ChatGPT is an AI model without consciousness. It processes instructions logically, not emotionally. Skipping polite words doesn’t affect the AI’s response quality.
Q2: Does politeness make ChatGPT perform better?
No. Unlike humans, AI does not respond differently to polite versus direct prompts. Clear, concise inputs produce the most accurate responses.
Q3: How does saying thank you affect ChatGPT’s operating costs?
Each word added to a prompt increases token usage. With millions of users globally, even small token increases add up to significant computing costs — as explained by Sam Altman.
Q4: Can polite prompts harm the system?
They don’t “harm” the system but can contribute to unnecessary computational load. Using only essential words improves efficiency.
Q5: Should AI prompt etiquette change based on this information?
Yes. Users should be encouraged to adopt efficient prompt-writing practices, especially at scale, to support responsible AI usage.
Final Thoughts: Efficiency Over Etiquette
While saying “thank you” and “please” to ChatGPT reflects natural human habits, it is unnecessary and inefficient. As AI models continue to scale, their operating costs grow — and simple prompt optimization plays a role in mitigating those costs.
OpenAI’s infrastructure is among the most powerful in the world, but even it has limits. If millions of users reduce even a few tokens per query, the cumulative effect can save thousands in compute and energy usage.
Being polite is always appreciated — but when it comes to AI, being efficient is even better.
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