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Google reports that the median text prompt in Gemini Apps used 0.24 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity in May 2025. That is close to Google’s much older estimate of 0.3 Wh per search from 2009—but the comparison does not show that a Gemini prompt today uses roughly the same energy as a basic Google search. The figures come from different years and measurement methods, and the sources here establish no current energy figure for a basic search.
How much electricity does a Gemini prompt use?
Google’s August 2025 account puts the median Gemini Apps text-generation prompt at 0.24 Wh, based on a point-in-time sample from May 2025. Google says the figure is not a universal value for every prompt and should not be treated as a prediction of future performance. Prompt length and type can vary, so an individual request may differ from the median. Google Cloud’s explanation of the measurement describes the reported result and its scope.
Google also reports 0.03 grams of CO2-equivalent emissions and 0.26 milliliters of water for that median text prompt. These are related but distinct measures: the emissions estimate uses Google’s 2024 fleet-average grid carbon intensity, while the water estimate uses its 2024 fleet water-usage effectiveness. They are not direct measurements of the electricity figure and should be read with those fleet factors and dates in mind.
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The result depends substantially on what is counted. In its comprehensive method, Google includes active AI accelerators, host CPU and memory, machines kept idle to provide capacity and reliability, and data-center overhead. Its technical paper says narrower measurement approaches can significantly underestimate AI-serving impacts; that is Google’s conclusion about its own accounting, not an independent standards-body finding. Google’s August 2025 technical paper explains the methodology.
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Using a narrower active-accelerator-only boundary, Google calculates 0.10 Wh for a median prompt, compared with 0.24 Wh under the comprehensive approach. The two numbers are not competing measurements of an identical boundary: the lower one excludes parts of the serving system that the broader estimate allocates to the prompt.
How the Gemini figure compares with Google’s search estimate
Google’s official historical search figure is 0.0003 kilowatt-hours per search, or 0.3 Wh. In a January 2009 post, Google said this included work performed before a search starts, such as building the search index. The original Google Blog post is a historical estimate, not a current measurement of basic search.
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The 0.24 Wh Gemini figure is numerically close to that 0.3 Wh historical estimate. But the figures are from different years, describe different tasks, and do not establish equivalent measurement boundaries. The 2009 estimate includes indexing work; Google’s 2025 Gemini estimate covers production serving and, in its comprehensive form, includes idle capacity and data-center overhead. The available sources do not establish how much energy a basic Google search uses today, so they cannot verify a present-day equivalence.
There is also a decimal-place discrepancy in the ITPro article associated with this comparison: it prints 0.03 Wh for a search. Google’s 2009 post says 0.0003 kWh, which converts to 0.3 Wh—ten times larger than 0.03 Wh. The two values conflict, and the primary-source figure is the documented historical Google estimate. ITPro’s article should not be read as establishing a current Google search figure.
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What Google’s efficiency improvements do—and do not—show
Google says the median prompt’s energy use fell 33-fold between its May 2024 baseline and its May 2025 analysis, while its reported carbon footprint fell 44-fold over the same period. Google’s account of the year-over-year change concerns per-prompt metrics. It does not by itself show that the total environmental impact of Gemini declined: total impact also depends on how much the service is used, as well as factors beyond the serving estimate, such as training and infrastructure construction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a fair comparison would need
A reliable comparison would need both services measured on compatible terms, with the task, year, statistic and system boundary made explicit. Important details include whether the comparison is between a simple text prompt and a simple search; prompt length and the use of median or average; whether host systems, idle capacity and data-center overhead are counted; and whether indexing or other preparation is allocated to search. Geography and the distinction between operational serving and a full lifecycle assessment matter too.
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Google’s published Gemini figure answers a useful, bounded question: what its comprehensive method estimated for the median Gemini Apps text prompt in May 2025. It does not answer how much electricity a basic search uses now. Until current, comparable search data is available, the safest conclusion is that the 2025 Gemini result and Google’s 2009 search estimate are close in numerical magnitude, but they do not prove that one Gemini prompt uses about as much energy as one current Google search.
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