5 September 2026
Altman disputes viral claim about ChatGPT's water consumption
First reported
Tom's Hardware ran this on , 2 days before the next source picked it up.
- A widespread claim stated one ChatGPT query uses as much water as a six-hour shower. Altman said this significantly overstates actual usage.
- Altman estimated 38,000 ChatGPT queries use roughly as much water as growing one almond, which takes about 1.1 gallons. Researchers suggest the actual number ranges from 85 to 5,500 queries per almond.
How it was covered
Reported by Tom's Hardware