OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the energy consumption of a single AI query has decreased by 1,000 to 100,000 times compared to levels from three to four years ago. He attributed this improvement to the development of more efficient AI models, though he noted these figures are estimates.
Despite these efficiency gains, Altman identified energy as the primary challenge for the AI industry. He highlighted that while individual queries require less power, the total volume of usage has surged. Top users now consume hundreds of billions of tokens monthly, compared to roughly 100,000 tokens six years ago.
At the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi on November 2, 2026, Altman announced a multi-year partnership between OpenAI, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and the local firm G42. The collaboration aims to integrate frontier AI models into ADNOC’s operations to optimize business processes.
Altman suggested that AI could eventually increase global energy availability by improving production and operational efficiency. He continues to advocate for the expansion of energy generation capacity, specifically through renewable sources and nuclear power, to address the industry's growing power demands.
