Recently, a quirky piece of "news" started floating around the internet: Saying "please" or "sorry" to ChatGPT costs OpenAI money. And while this made for some hilarious tweets and hot takes, let's take a moment to break it down and set the record straight.

Wait… Does Being Polite Actually Cost More?

Technically? Yes. Practically? Not really.

ChatGPT (like other AI models) runs on something called tokens. Tokens are chunks of text — usually a few characters or a word. Every time you send a message, and every time the model replies, tokens are counted. More tokens = higher processing cost.

So when you say:

  • "Tell me a joke." → 5 tokens
  • "Could you please tell me a joke?" → 8 tokens

Yes, that "please" added 3 tokens. And those 3 tokens technically cost more to process.

But How Much Does That Cost?

Let's break it down:

  • GPT-4-turbo costs about $0.01 per 1,000 tokens.
  • "Please" is 1 token.
  • That's $0.00001 per 'please' — a microscopic amount.

But here's the twist — Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, did say that processing polite phrases like "please" and "thank you" could cost the company tens of millions of dollars per year when multiplied across billions of user interactions.

That's true — but OpenAI hasn't asked anyone to stop being polite.

Is OpenAI Asking Us to Stop Being Polite?

Not at all.

OpenAI welcomes natural, human-like conversations. Altman's comment was more about scale and transparency of operational costs, not a warning to stop saying nice things.

In fact, politeness helps shape better interactions — even with AI. It makes tone clearer, keeps conversations respectful, and fosters positive engagement.

So… Should I Keep Saying "Please"?

Yes! Keep being kind and respectful — not just to AI, but to people too. Your "please" isn't bankrupting OpenAI, and your "sorry" doesn't crash the servers.

Bottom Line

  • ChatGPT charges based on token usage.
  • Polite words do use more tokens — but the cost is negligible.
  • Sam Altman's comment about "tens of millions" is real, but applies at scale — not per person.
  • Keep being polite. It's worth far more than it costs.