Overview

• Google estimates a median Gemini text prompt uses 0.24 Wh, emits 0.03 gCO2e, and consumes 0.26 ml of water—roughly nine seconds of TV—below OpenAI’s informal ChatGPT figure of about 0.34 Wh.
• The report’s “full-stack” breakdown attributes 58% of electricity to TPUs, 25% to host CPU and memory, 10% to idle backup machines, and 8% to data-center overhead.
• Google says the median prompt’s energy use fell 33x and its carbon footprint 44x over 12 months, with emissions calculated using a market-based electricity mix reflecting its clean power purchases.
• The methodology covers median text queries only and excludes more intensive tasks like image or video generation; Google did not publish raw data and says the findings are not third-party vetted.
• Despite efficiency gains, Google’s total emissions have grown about 48% since 2019, and local constraints persist, with data centers projected to use about 7% of Texas’s water by 2030.