Question à Gemini, mesure de Google

Name: Question to Gemini, measured by Google
Creator: Projet Celsius
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Projet Celsius

Database entryUsesLevel 3 of 6 useUse, level 3 of 6Used to calculate 2 entries, levels 4 and 6Calculated with 1 entry, level 1Database structure

Question to Gemini, measured by Google

The median text question asked to the Gemini apps in May 2025, measured by Google in production.

The figure covers the chips, the servers, the idle reserve machines and the data centre, for the median question.
CO2e is calculated from electricity and the worldwide grid; it is not a direct measurement of carbon.
Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device.

Compare

Calculated with

Grid electricity

Used to calculate

Annual emissions of "Question to Gemini", by frequency

Your frequencyPeriod

Read the values at4,100 times a year

Reading: at 4,100 uses per year, "Question to Gemini" has the same footprint as one phone charge every week. Carbon footprint (CO2e) over one year, by number of uses. Each use is a straight line; "Question to Gemini" is highlighted, with the chosen parameters, and compared with 6 reference uses at their default settings; the solid line is one phone charge per week over a year, and the point where the task reaches it. Servers worldwide. Calculation from the AI Impact Database by Projet Celsius.

Origin of the value

Chips, servers, idle reserve machines and data centre included. The only production measurement published by a provider, not audited by a third party.

Comparison with the other uses

The topic "Text and conversation"

Write an email0.11 gCO2e, 1 times the value of "Question to Gemini"
Question to Gemini0.11 gCO2e
Quick question0.14 gCO2e, 1.3 times the value of "Question to Gemini"
Question to Claude0.14 gCO2e, 1.3 times the value of "Question to Gemini"
Question to ChatGPT0.16 gCO2e, 1.4 times the value of "Question to Gemini"
Write a page0.21 gCO2e, 1.9 times the value of "Question to Gemini"
Proofread a page0.27 gCO2e, 2.5 times the value of "Question to Gemini"

↓ The heaviest use in the topic, "Deep research": 45 gCO2e, 410 times more

Emissions of one use, linear scale, 7 of the 21 uses in the topic. For calculated values, servers worldwide.

Characteristics

Unit	1 question
Default location	world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from
Counted	the chips, the servers, the idle reserve machines and the data centre, for the median question
Not counted	server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device
Status	measured, 1 reading with the same scope

All the characteristics identifier, version, rule for the value, sources, licence

Identifier	IA-0228, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0228/
Version	0.1 of 2 November 2026
Category	Uses, a request to AI
Choice of the selected value	value taken as it stands from its source, without calculation
Sources	Google, 2025
Licence	CC BY 4.0

Emissions by server location

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Poland0.14 gCO2e
World0.11 gCO2e
United States0.092 gCO2e
European Union0.05 gCO2e
France0.0099 gCO2e

× 14 between Poland and France, for the same electricity

Ember 2025, over the life cycle. The same use consumes 0.24 Wh in each location.

Question to Gemini, measured by Google · result per question · measured · one server location per row.Counted: the chips, the servers, the idle reserve machines and the data centre, for the median question. Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's deviceFind this case: projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/tasks/question-to-gemini/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0228, entry in version 0.1 · engine 0.3.1 · CC BY 4.0.

Result for the chosen case

Location of the servers

For a carbon footprint

The row for a carbon footprint

Item	purchases of services (GHG Protocol scope 3, category 1); regulatory BEGES, category 4
Quantity	1 question
Factor	0.11 gCO2e per question, IA-0228 version 0.1, according to the grid at the location (location-based), servers worldwide
Total	0.11 gCO2e · not counted: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device

This block is made of no other: its value is read from its sources.

Entries that use it (2)

Gemini app, per day, Google AI Pro, 1 year

Sources of the calculation

2 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.

Energy and factors

The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.

Google · Aug. 2025
Measuring the environmental impact of delivering AI at Google scale ↗ (new tab)
Question to Gemini
Role and limits : Google
What the publication covers. chips, host, standby machines, data centre, on-site water
What it does not cover. manufacturing, training
Reading by the database. The only production measurement published by a provider
- Question to Gemini →
  Reference of the selected value
  Scope of the figure used. Median text question, May 2025; chips, host, idle reserve machines, data centre
  Limit. Record R-0001, attached to the Gemini block

Conversion into carbon

The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.

Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.

Ember · 2026
Global Electricity Review 2026, and Our World in Data based on Ember ↗ (new tab)
Grid electricity
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
- Grid electricity →
  Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
  Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
  Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.

Published values

1 figure for the same operation, each within its own scope.

Green: same scope as the selected value (measured in dark, estimated or published in light). Grey: other scope. Empty circle: check by the database or discarded figure. Logarithmic scale.

Source	Date	Electricity	What the figure measures	Scope	Status
Question to Geminiselected by the database, v0.1	2026	0.24 Wh	the value selected by the database	same scope	measured
Google, Gemini Apps ↗Measuring the environmental impact of delivering AI at Google scale	August 2025	0.24 Wh	Median text question, May 2025; chips, host, idle reserve machines, data centre · Record R-0001, attached to the Gemini block	same scope	measured

The published figures do not all count the same scope; the scope of each figure is written next to it. Why do the estimates diverge?

Methodology conventions

With their alternatives

The full methodology

The default location	Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity · alternatives: the United States, where most of the large assistants run
Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis	The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries · alternatives: market-based, with purchase contracts, shown alongside when published
Two significant figures	A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision
Calculate a case without an entry	The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example

History

Entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4

The changelog

2 November 2026Version 0.1 of the entry, as of the date of its current value.
31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).

Citation

Projet Celsius, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026, "Question to Gemini, measured by Google", IA-0228 (entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026), projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0228/ · CC BY 4.0.

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