The entire world is currently talking about the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, specifically when the companies are building massive data centers to power AI models. Addressing that, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has now pushed back against concerns over AI’s water consumption, arguing that some claims circulating online exaggerate how much water is required to run ChatGPT.
Speaking on the Sources podcast, Altman claimed that around 38,000 ChatGPT queries use roughly the same amount of water required to produce single almond in California. He also acknowledged that he was recalling the figure from memory and that it can be inaccurate, although he believed it was close to the actual number.
Altman also criticised the widespread perception that AI is consuming excessive amounts of water. He pointed to social media posts comparing a single ChatGPT query to several hours of showering, arguing that such claims do not stand up to scrutiny.
Altman previously said that a single ChatGPT query consumes around 0.32 millilitres of water. Meanwhile, a 2019 study involving researchers affiliated with the US Geological Survey estimated that producing one California almond requires an average of 3.56 litres of water.
Based on those figures, one almond would require roughly the same amount of water as 11,000 ChatGPT queries, considerably lower than Altman’s latest estimate of 38,000 queries. Altman also stated that the modern data centres also do not necessarily rely on the same water-intensive cooling systems used in the past. He claimed that a very large modern data center can have routine water consumption comparable to an office building, including water used for sinks and toilets.
However, concerns about data-centre water consumption remain, particularly in regions facing water shortages. Evaporative cooling systems can consume massive amounts of water, and studies have raised concerns about their impact in water-stressed areas.
On the other hand, reports suggest that companies are working to reduce water consumption. Amazon said its data centers used per cent less water in 2025 than the previous year, although its total usage still reached around 2.5 billion gallons. Microsoft has also reported up to a 90 per cent improvement in water efficiency compared with its earliest data centres.