New research from Uswitch Business Energy, the comparison and switching service, estimates that the average workplace team generates around 24 AI prompts each working day, from drafting emails and creating content to analysing information and automating routine admin.
To estimate the national impact, Uswitch combined its survey findings with YouGov research showing that 32% of British workers use AI in their jobs and Gallup research on average workplace team sizes. Assuming an average team of 12 employees, each generating two AI prompts per working day, this suggests that up to 11 million workers across Britain’s workforce of 34.4 million people generate an estimated 22 million AI prompts every working day.
While a single AI request uses only a small amount of electricity, the cumulative impact is significant. Using Google’s estimate that a typical Gemini text prompt consumes around 0.24 watt-hours (Wh) of energy Uswitch estimates workplace AI usage consumes approximately 5.28 MWh of electricity each working day. Assuming a standard five-day working week, this equates to around 26.4 MWh per week and approximately 1.37 gigawatt-hours (GWh) each year.
This is enough electricity to power around 508 typical UK homes for a year, based on Ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Value for annual household electricity use.
The research found differences in reported AI usage across sectors, with IT & Telecoms teams reporting the highest estimated level of AI-assisted activity (35 tasks per team per working day), followed by Finance (29), Education (22), and Healthcare (21).
Top 5 industries by average daily AI prompts
- IT & Telecoms – 35
- Finance – 29
- Education – 22
- Other – 21
- Healthcare – 21
- The research found that employees aged 25-34 reported that their team completed an average of 30 AI-assisted tasks every working day, the highest of any age group. Workers aged 18-24 report that their teams average 27 AI-assisted tasks, while workers aged 55 and over report that their teams complete just 18 AI-assisted tasks per day.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch, comments: “AI has rapidly evolved from an emerging technology into an everyday business tool. As more organisations adopt AI to support tasks such as content creation, customer service and administration, the cumulative energy demand from these tools will continue to grow.
“Although each prompt uses a relatively small amount of energy, the scale of adoption means businesses are collectively generating billions of AI interactions every week. As organisations continue to embrace AI, understanding the impact this could have on future electricity demand will become increasingly important.
“Businesses already carefully monitor energy use from equipment, heating and lighting. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in workplace processes, organisations may also need to consider how digital tools contribute to their overall energy footprint.”
Ben’s expert tips to help businesses reduce the energy impact of AI tools:
- Audit your AI tool usage
Start by understanding which AI tools your teams are using and how frequently they’re using them. Usage patterns vary significantly across departments; marketing and customer service teams tend to be the heaviest users. Identifying where AI is being used most intensively can help you estimate its potential energy impact and identify opportunities to improve efficiency.
- Consolidate AI platforms where possible
Many organisations are running multiple AI tools simultaneously across different teams, often with overlapping functionality. Consolidating onto fewer, more energy-efficient platforms can simplify workflows, reduce duplicate tasks and help teams use AI more efficiently.
- Factor AI into your energy planning
As AI adoption grows across your workforce, so will your energy demand. When reviewing your business energy tariff or forecasting future usage, it’s worth factoring in how AI usage may evolve over time to ensure you’re planning effectively for future demand.
- Encourage efficient prompt habits
Not all prompts are equal in terms of energy use. Training staff to write clear, precise prompts that get useful outputs first time, rather than iterating through multiple attempts, can reduce unnecessary processing. Small improvements in how AI is used, when adopted across an organisation, can contribute to more efficient and responsible use of technology.
To keep costs low, make sure you’re on the right business energy tariff at Uswitch Business Energy.
This article appeared in the September 2026 issue of Energy Manager magazine. Subscribe here.
