Does It Really Cost ChatGPT When We Say “Hello” or “Thank You”?

You might have recently come across a viral post or headline:

“Sam Altman Reveals How Much Saying ‘Please’ And ‘Thank You’ to ChatGPT Really Costs.”

 

It’s the kind of statement that grabs your attention. Is it a joke? A marketing ploy? Or is there some wild truth behind it? Could the polite “hello” or “thank you” you type to ChatGPT really be costing OpenAI, the company behind the chatbot, significant money?

Let’s unpack this idea. We’ll explore what Sam Altman actually meant, whether ChatGPT “feels” the cost of pleasantries, and what it really takes to run an AI assistant at scale. And if you’re just here to get a simple answer: No, your “hello” doesn’t cost billions — but running ChatGPT definitely isn’t cheap.

Why Are People Talking About “Please” and “Thank You”?

The phrase came into the spotlight thanks to a statement made by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. During interviews and public talks, Altman has been open about the operational costs of running AI models like ChatGPT.

At one point, he remarked that if every user continues to type things like “hello,” “please,” and “thank you” before and after each query, it could collectively add millions of dollars in extra computation costs. This led to a flurry of memes, tweets, and posts across social media, half-joking that basic manners might bankrupt AI companies.

So, Does It Really Cost Money to Say Hello to ChatGPT?

In short: Yes, but not in the way you might think.

Let’s break this down:

• When you send a message to ChatGPT, no matter how short, it gets processed by a powerful AI model that lives on a server in a data center.
• These servers use graphics processing units (GPUs) or specialized AI hardware to perform real-time language processing.
• Even a simple message like “hello” triggers a response generation pipeline that uses electricity, hardware, cooling, and bandwidth.
• That means there is a real, albeit tiny, cost for every interaction.

So when Sam Altman said “please” and “thank you” cost money, he wasn’t wrong. If hundreds of millions of users all say “hello” before their question, the cumulative cost of processing those polite words does add up.

How Much Does a Single Chat Cost?

It depends on many factors: the length of the prompt, the size of the model (like GPT-3.5 or GPT-4), and the type of task.

According to estimates, a single GPT-4 query can cost several cents to run on the backend. Even GPT-3.5, which is faster and lighter, still costs money to operate. These costs include:

• Power consumption
• Server maintenance
• Cooling systems
• Data transfer
• Model inference (the actual work of generating a response)

If you send a message with just “hello,” it might only cost fractions of a cent. But multiply that by millions of users daily, and now you’re talking serious money.

That’s why people joke that saying “hi” to ChatGPT costs a few million dollars a year.

But Is That a Bad Thing? Should We Stop Being Polite?

Absolutely not. Being polite to ChatGPT isn’t just charming — it’s part of what makes human-computer interaction feel more natural.

In fact, educators often encourage students to practice politeness even with AI. It helps build social habits and reinforces respectful communication.

Besides, the cost of processing polite phrases is negligible compared to the value of providing a great user experience. OpenAI isn’t asking people to be rude — it’s just highlighting an interesting technical reality behind the scenes.

What Makes ChatGPT So Expensive to Run?

To understand the real cost, you need to peek behind the curtain. Here’s why large-scale AI like ChatGPT is expensive:

1. Training Costs

Before ChatGPT ever replies to a single question, it goes through an intense training phase. This involves feeding the model trillions of words from the internet, books, articles, and code. Training a model like GPT-4 is estimated to cost tens of millions of dollars, sometimes even more.

2. Hardware Costs

Running ChatGPT requires massive server farms full of NVIDIA A100 GPUs or newer chips designed specifically for AI. These aren’t cheap — each server can cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

3. Electricity and Cooling

AI servers use a ton of electricity and generate a lot of heat. Keeping data centers cool and efficient is a full-time job (and a major cost).

4. Latency and Uptime

ChatGPT is used globally 24/7. That means OpenAI needs to ensure fast responses, minimal downtime, and high availability — all of which require load balancing, redundancies, and engineering teams to keep it all running smoothly.

Why Does OpenAI Care About Tiny Costs?

Because scale changes everything.

Let’s say a single “hello” costs OpenAI 0.001 cents. That’s virtually nothing, right? But if ChatGPT handles 1 billion messages a day, and 200 million of them begin with “hello,” that becomes $2,000 per day just to process greetings. That’s $730,000 per year — just for that one word.

Now add “please,” “thank you,” and other common polite phrases. You see how the numbers grow.

These tiny costs don’t hurt individually, but when you’re running an operation at global internet scale, every fraction matters. That’s why companies like OpenAI keep a close eye on usage patterns and optimize everything — from backend performance to user prompts.

Should You Feel Guilty About Being Polite?

Not at all. In fact, here’s why you shouldn’t stop saying “hello” and “thank you” to ChatGPT:

• It’s good for human interaction: Treating AI with respect reflects and reinforces how we treat each other.
• It doesn’t meaningfully impact costs individually. You’re not hurting OpenAI by being polite.
• It helps train future models. AI systems that observe human politeness may learn to respond more helpfully and respectfully in turn.

So go ahead. Say “thanks” after you get a great answer. Start your message with “Hi ChatGPT.” It won’t bankrupt anyone — and it makes the experience more human.

Final Thoughts: The Price of a Polite AI

Yes, it technically costs money every time you talk to ChatGPT — even when you’re just saying “hello.” But no, you don’t need to worry about it.

The real takeaway from Sam Altman’s statement is this: AI has real-world costs. It’s powered by data centers, hardware, energy, and talented humans. When we chat casually with an AI, we’re tapping into a vast and expensive infrastructure.

So the next time someone says, “Did you know saying ‘please’ to ChatGPT costs money?” — you can smile and say:

“Yes, but good manners are always worth it.”