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In a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, how we interact with technology may seem trivial—until you consider the cost. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post on X, common courtesies like saying “please” and “thank you” in prompts have cost the company a considerable amount of money. These pleasantries, while seemingly benign, take extra processing power, increasing electricity use and, ultimately, expense. But what if those extra words aren’t just fluff? What if, instead of being wasteful, those small, human gestures are actually the key to working effectively with AI?
The High Cost Of Being Polite To AI
AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude process massive volumes of information with every user interaction. Because large language models (LLMs) run on server farms that consume vast amounts of energy, every additional word counts toward compute time and energy consumption. Altman’s comment–discounting your mother’s sage advice–was an honest observation of actual costs. But it sparked an important conversation about how we interact with AI, and whether politeness should be sacrificed in the name of efficiency.
While it’s true that being polite adds characters to a prompt and might increase energy consumption, the benefits of those extra words outweigh the costs—especially when you consider the quality of the results. Here’s why.
AI Interaction Is A Conversation, Not A Command Line
Many people approach AI like they’re searching in Google: enter a few keywords, hit enter, and hope for a useful output. But generative AI isn’t a search engine. It’s a partner in problem-solving. And like any partner, the quality of your interaction matters.
One of the most overlooked best practices when using AI tools is to treat AI like a person. Thats one of 17 simple AI best practices that make AI interactions more meaningful. Approaching AI like a human interaction doesn’t mean attributing emotions or consciousness to your chatbot, but rather engaging in a thoughtful, respectful conversation. Just like you wouldn’t bark vague instructions at an intern or colleague and expect stellar results, you shouldn’t expect great responses from AI when you treat it like a search engine.
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