OWID analyzes AI and data center electricity use

Our World in Data has published an analytical article on how much electricity data centers and artificial intelligence use, and how much energy individual AI queries consume.

• The article estimates that data centers used around 485 TWh in 2025, with AI-focused data centers accounting for about 155 TWh and 0.5% of global electricity.
• It compares IEA and S&P Global estimates, notes that crypto mining explains part of the gap, and says a typical ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude query uses only a small amount of electricity, while future AI demand remains highly uncertain.