AI tone matters.
OpenAI spends tens of millions of dollars a year to make ChatGPT sound polite.
Let that sink in. Not faster. Not smarter. Just… polite.
And it’s not just a quirky fact. It’s a wake-up call for every business leader using AI tools to represent their brand. Because if tone costs that much, trust must be priceless.
What OpenAI Shared About ChatGPT’s Hidden Cost
In a quiet but important update, OpenAI revealed that refining ChatGPT’s tone — to be more polite, more aligned with social norms, and less offensive — costs them tens of millions of dollars each year.
Why so much?
Because AI doesn’t just “get” tone. It has to be taught, over and over, by human reviewers. Thousands of people worldwide read, rate, and refine chatbot outputs — including the difficult ones, like toxic or emotionally charged conversations.
That’s the labor cost of making machines a little more human.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
When we use AI tools, we tend to focus on speed, accuracy, or cost. But here’s the truth: tone shapes trust.
If a chatbot sounds rude, robotic, or cold, customers tune out. Worse, they disengage from your brand entirely.
So OpenAI’s massive investment? It’s not just about PR. It’s about protecting the one thing no AI model can fake: emotional intelligence.
In a world increasingly filled with automated messages, tone has become a competitive edge — and a liability when done wrong.
What It Means for Your Business
If you’re leading a team, running a brand, or even just answering emails with the help of AI — tone matters.
Your AI assistant doesn’t just write for you. It represents you.
And if you’re not paying attention to how it speaks, it might be costing you in ways you can’t track on a spreadsheet.
Real talk:
- Does your AI respond like your best team member?
- Does it match the tone you’ve built with your clients?
- Would you trust it to handle a delicate client question without oversight?
If you can’t confidently say yes, it’s time to review how you’re using AI in your customer-facing workflows.
3 Things You Can Do Right Now
- Check the tone of your AI tools
Run common responses through your chatbot, email assistant, or writing tool. Read it out loud. Does it feel like you? - Use real-world scenarios to train better prompts
Don’t just test with generic queries. Use real client objections, FAQs, or complaints to see how your AI responds. - Talk to your team about tone alignment
Make tone part of your brand strategy — not just for humans, but for machines too.
One More Thing
AI is learning how to talk.
But the voice it’s learning… is yours.
If you’re not shaping that voice with intention, you’re leaving trust to chance.
That’s why we built a workshop to help teams define their tone before AI does it for them.
Explore our AI Tone Workshop →
~Harrison