OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said around 38,000 ChatGPT queries use water equivalent to growing one California almond, while admitting the figure may not be exact. Speaking on the Sources podcast, Altman rejected viral claims about AI’s water consumption and argued modern data centres are less water-intensive, though researchers continue highlighting environmental concerns.

As scrutiny grows over the environmental cost of the data centres powering AI, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pushed back against what he calls exaggerated claims about how much water ChatGPT actually consumes.

Sam Altman's almond comparison

Speaking on the Sources podcast, Altman said that roughly 38,000 ChatGPT queries use about as much water as it takes to grow a single California almond. He was upfront that he was citing the figure from memory and that it could be off, though he maintained it was in the right ballpark.

Altman also took aim at viral comparisons that liken a single ChatGPT query to hours of showering, arguing that such claims fall apart under closer examination.