Announcing AI Energy Score Ratings
AI models power everything from chatbots to search engines, but their energy consumption remains largely opaque. Some large models require multiple cloud GPUs to run and use large amounts of energy, whereas other models are small and can run on a laptop or even a phone.
The AI community needs a way to compare the energy consumption of AI models for different tasks – the AI Energy Score project aims to do exactly this, offering a clear and standardized benchmark for measuring AI energy consumption, ensuring that the AI community can make informed, sustainable choices.
Key Features of the AI Energy Score
Standardized Energy Ratings ⚡
A uniform framework measures and compares AI models based on their energy consumption during specific tasks. This ensures clarity and reliability in evaluating model efficiency.
Public Leaderboard of AI Models 📈
For the first time, a publicly available leaderboard ranks 166 AI models across 10 common AI tasks—including text and image generation, summarization, and more. Among the models evaluated are the LLaMa models, Phi, Gemma, Mistral and SmolLM.
A Benchmarking Portal for AI Developers 💻
Developers can submit their models—whether open-source or proprietary—to be assessed under the AI Energy Score framework. Open models are automatically tested, while closed models undergo evaluation via a secure Docker environment, ensuring reproducibility and a fair comparison.
Recognizable Energy Use Labels ⭐
To simplify decision-making, the AI Energy Score introduces a 1- to 5-star rating system, similar to how household appliances are rated for energy efficiency. The most efficient models for a given task receive the top “five star” rating, guiding users toward sustainable choices.
AI Energy Score at the AI Action Summit 🇫🇷
Alongside our partners from Salesforce and Cohere, we will showcase the AI Energy Score Project in Paris at the AI Action Summit, where leaders from over 100 countries, alongside private sector and civil society representatives, will convene to explore ways AI can be harnessed for social good.
Recognized by both the organizers of the Summit and the Paris Peace Forum, this initiative has the potential to shift industry standards and drive the adoption of energy-efficient AI models worldwide.
What’s Next? 🚀
Launching the AI Energy Score is only the beginning. Our goal is to test the most models possible, especially proprietary ones that are being used by millions of users a day. That’s why we will continue our work, especially:
- Expanding the AI Energy Score database to assess even more models and AI tasks.
- Encouraging industry-wide adoption of energy efficiency benchmarks.
- Collaborating with policymakers to integrate sustainability into AI regulations.
- Educating AI users and developers to prioritize efficiency in their technology choices.
