How to reduce your use of AI

From creating social content to supporting service delivery, artificial intelligence (AI) has wide-ranging benefits for charities. According to the 2025 Charity Digital Skills report, 76% of charities are using AI, with the top uses including drafting reports, administrative tasks, or developing online content.

 

But many people are cautious, concerned about ethical issues around confidentiality, copyright, or how AI is deepening the digital divide. Then there’s the issue of sustainability. AI relies on massive data centres that consume vast volumes of power and water, and the rapid expansion of AI is fuelling a surge of data centre development right across the globe.

 

AI is embedded in more and more areas of our lives – from entertainment streaming platforms, to banking and travel apps. It’s almost impossible to completely avoid it. But here are six ways that you can opt out of using (mainly generative) AI. Or at the least, reduce the environmental toll of its use. 

 

 

Use AI-optional or greener search engines

This is easier said than done. For example, Google has recently introduced AI overviews, and while you can remove them (choose the ‘web’ option under the ‘more’ button on a search page), it just hides the overviews, rather than not generating them.

You could try some of PC Mag’s hints to turn off Google’s AI overviews, or you might want to try greener search engines. One example is Ecosia, which donates its profits to tree-planting initiatives (although it’s also faced backlash following the launch of its AI chatbot).

 

 

Review your privacy settings and switch off AI options where possible

 

People have varying comfort levels when it comes to privacy and AI. For charities, especially if using AI tools for work, it is important to understand exactly how information will be used with AI tools to protect the data of supporters and beneficiaries and remain compliant with UK GDPR.

 

Take the time to review and adjust the privacy settings on any AI platforms you use, so you can regain some control over the data any particular system collects. For example, you might want to explore opting out of Microsoft’s AI training policy, disabling AI on WordPress or switching off Google Gemini.

 

 

Think critically before using AI

It can be easy to jump to generative AI the second you can’t think of the right phrase or find the right image. But that can quickly become a habit and a slippery slope to relying on AI rather than flexing your own intellect.

 

Before you automatically use AI, question whether you actually need to use it, or if, with a little extra time, you can reach a great output yourself. Using your brain instead of AI, will save energy and keep your mind sparking. 

 

 

Improve your prompts

 

Each time you use generative AI, you’re using energy. For example, writing 100 words with ChatGPT uses 500ml of water plus 140Wh of energy (that’s the same as fully charging an iPhone seven times). And this soars when using AI to generate an image.

 

One way to reduce your energy consumption is to improve your prompts – making them clear, precise, and thorough. That might mean taking a little more time to think through what you need to ask, rather than firing off a prompt and then spending a long time refining the output. Another advantage in planning a prompt well, is that you’ll be clearer about what you’re trying to achieve. Harvard University shares tips on writing good AI prompts and we share some tips on how to write the best AI prompts too.

 

 

Forget the niceties

 

If you’re extra polite when using generative AI, think twice before you pile on the niceties. A recent US survey found that 67% of people were always polite to AI, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has said on social media that users saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to ChatGPT has cost the company millions of dollars through electricity consumption. If all users cut back on non-essential interactions, across all AI models, globally, the impact could be immense.   

 

 

Use tools you’d have used previously

 

Instead of jumping to AI, think about using techniques you’d have previously used for research, idea generation, or creating content. For example, use a search engine instead of ChatGPT or Copilot for a straightforward search, work with colleagues to brainstorm new project ideas, or discuss research with knowledge experts. 

 

As well as being kinder to the planet, you’ll also be limiting your dependency on AI and protecting your mental agility. As Sol Rashidi comments in Forbes magazine: “Set boundaries around how much you rely on technology; challenge yourself regularly without its assistance – this strengthens cognitive skills over time.”