Workplace AI uses power of 508 UK homes, study says

Uswitch Business Energy estimates that workplace use of artificial intelligence consumes 1.37 GWh of electricity a year in Britain, based on an estimated 22 million AI prompts generated each working day.

It said that would be enough to power about 508 UK homes for a year, using Ofgem's typical household electricity consumption benchmark. The estimate reflects growing use of tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini for drafting emails, analysing information and routine administrative work.

Uswitch arrived at the figure by combining its own survey results with external data on AI use at work and average team size. It assumed that 32% of British workers use AI in their jobs, that the national workforce stands at 34.4 million, and that the average team has 12 employees who each generate two AI prompts a day.

On that basis, the group estimated that about 11 million workers produce 22 million AI prompts on a typical working day. Using Google's estimate that a Gemini text prompt consumes 0.24 watt-hours of electricity, it calculated daily workplace AI use at about 5.28 MWh, or 26.4 MWh over a five-day week.

The findings add to a broader debate over the hidden energy costs of digital tools as businesses expand their use of generative AI. While a single text prompt uses little electricity, aggregate demand has grown enough for some companies to consider AI alongside more familiar sources of office energy consumption.

Sector split

Reported usage varied by industry. IT and telecoms teams recorded the highest level of AI-assisted activity, at 35 tasks per team per working day, followed by finance at 29, education at 22 and healthcare at 21.

The figures suggest adoption is strongest in sectors where staff carry out text-heavy, analytical or process-driven work. The survey also listed an "Other" category at 21 daily prompts, putting it alongside healthcare in the upper tier of reported workplace use.

Team-level usage was a central measure in the research. Across all sectors, the average workplace team was estimated to complete 24 AI-assisted tasks each day, suggesting the technology has moved beyond ad hoc experimentation into regular office routines.

Age trends

The research also pointed to differences by age group. Workers aged 25 to 34 reported the highest team usage, with an average of 30 AI-assisted tasks a day.

Employees aged 18 to 24 reported an average of 27 daily tasks, while workers aged 55 and over reported 18. That gap suggests younger employees may be more likely to integrate AI tools into everyday workflows, or to work in teams where such tools are more widely adopted.

The estimates come as employers weigh AI's productivity benefits against questions over governance, accuracy, staff training and cost. Energy use is likely to become another factor in that calculation, especially for companies already tracking electricity consumption closely as part of broader cost-control measures.

For many businesses, the extra power demand associated with AI will still be small compared with heating, cooling, lighting and major equipment. Even so, the study suggests a new category of energy use is emerging from software tools that many workers now access as routinely as email or spreadsheets.

Some organisations may also face challenges in measuring that demand directly. Employees may use a mix of approved and unapproved AI tools across departments, making it harder for managers to build an accurate view of activity levels or associated electricity consumption.

Ben Gallizzi, Energy Expert at Uswitch, said: "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."