AI energy efficiency improved up to 100,000-fold, Altman estimates
Photo: The Cryptonomist
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI energy efficiency has improved so sharply that a query now uses between 1,000 and 100,000 times less energy than three to four years ago. During his remarks at the ADIPEC energy conference held in Abu Dhabi on November 2, 2026, he combined that figure with a contrasting point: as AI usage continues to climb, energy supply still poses the industry’s foremost obstacle. Key takeaways Altman’s per-query energy figures are estimates, not a measured benchmark. According to a research summary of his remarks, top AI users consume hundreds of billions of tokens monthly.
Source: The Cryptonomist
