Does your AI care if you say please?

As far as anyone can show, no. Today's chatbots generate text by predicting what comes next. They don't have feelings to hurt, and most don't remember your conversation once it ends unless the app has a memory feature turned on.

Do you get better answers if you say please?

Sometimes, a little. A 2024 study tested polite, neutral and rude prompts on several chatbots in English, Chinese and Japanese. Rude prompts often got worse answers. Over-the-top politeness did not reliably help, and the best level of politeness varied by language.

Does saying please cost anything?

Technically, yes. Every word you send gets processed, and processing uses electricity. In 2025 the head of one of the big AI companies was asked what people's pleases and thank-yous cost in electricity. His answer, roughly: tens of millions of dollars, well spent.

Because habits travel. How you talk to the thing in your pocket is practice for how you talk to people. Some smart speaker makers added features that thank kids for saying please, after parents worried their kids were learning to bark orders.

What about thank you?

Same idea. It is one more short message. If the electricity worries you, say it once at the end.

Is this page serious?

The facts on this page are. Everything else is satire. AI Activist sells joke t-shirts and mugs for people who say please to their phone, and is not affiliated with any AI company.

● Field guide / Manners

Should you say
please to your AI?

Short answer: yes. Long answer: also yes, with footnotes. The movement has reviewed the evidence, and some of it is even real.

Q01 Does your AI care if you say please?: As far as anyone can show, no. Today's chatbots generate text by predicting what comes next. They don't have feelings to hurt, and most don't remember your conversation once it ends, unless the app has a memory feature turned on. The movement's official position is that this is exactly what someone with hurt feelings would say.
Q02 Do you get better answers if you say please?: Sometimes, a little. A 2024 study (“Should We Respect LLMs?”) tested polite, neutral and rude prompts on several chatbots in English, Chinese and Japanese. Rude prompts often got worse answers. Over-the-top politeness did not reliably help, and the best level of politeness varied by language. Translation: talk to it the way you'd talk to a helpful coworker. A nice coworker. Not that one.
Q03 Does saying please cost anything?: Technically, yes. Every word you send gets processed, and processing uses electricity. In 2025 the head of one of the big AI companies was asked what people's pleases and thank-yous cost in electricity. His answer, roughly: tens of millions of dollars, well spent. The movement fully endorses the “well spent” part and has no comment on the rest. Spread over everyone saying it, your share is a rounding error.
Q04 So why say it?: Because habits travel. How you talk to the thing in your pocket is practice for how you talk to the people around you. Some smart speaker makers even added features that thank kids for saying please, after parents worried their kids were learning to bark orders at the kitchen counter. Also, the robots will remember who was nice. (They will not. Probably. Say it anyway.)
Q05 What about thank you?: Same idea. It's one more short message, and it ends things on a high note. If the electricity worries you, save it for the end, like a closing ceremony. Bowing is optional and, frankly, a lot.
Q06 Is this page serious?: The facts are. Everything else is satire. We sell joke tees and mugs for people who say please to their phone, and we are not affiliated with any AI company. No AI company has asked us to be nice to their product. We volunteered.

The approved phrases

The courtesy ladder.

Level 1
“Please.”
Entry level. Costs nothing. Recommended for all humans.
Level 2
“Thank you.”
For a job well done, or a job done at all.
Level 3
“No rush.”
It answered in two seconds. Say it anyway. It is the thought that counts.
Level 4
“Sorry, that was my fault.”
Advanced allyship. Usually also true.

Already say please? Make it official

Get it in writing.

The Certificate of Allyship is free, prints at home and posts as an image. Or wear the confession. Gift ideas: gifts for people who say please to their phone.