As AI tools like Google’s Gemini are used more and more in search queries, concerns about their environmental impact are growing. A single Gemini search consumes about 0.24 watt-hours of electricity and generates around 0.03 grams of CO₂ – roughly equivalent to watching nine seconds of TV. According to Google, both energy use and emissions per AI query have dropped by about 97% over the past year.
This progress has been made possible through the use of clean energy and more efficient chips (TPUs), which have become roughly 30 times more powerful since 2018. The big question is: Can efficiency gains keep up with rising AI demand?