What is SmartSearchWP’s environmental impact?

The environmental impact of digital technologies, and of artificial intelligence (AI) in particular, is an increasingly hotly debated topic. At SmartSearchWP (SSWP), we’re aware of these issues, and we’d like to enlighten our users about the energy consumption of our plugin, as well as the steps we’ve taken to limit its ecological footprint.

The energy consumption of an AI chatbot

AI, like that used in SmartSearchWP, relies on sophisticated models such as ChatGPT, which require significant resources to operate. Here are a few points to contextualize:

Classic AI chatbot queries:
- A query to a model like ChatGPT consumes around 0.2 to 0.5 Wh of energy, slightly more than a search on a classic search engine like Google.
- This consumption depends on the complexity of the request and the length of the generated response.
Comparison with Google:
- A Google search uses around 0.3 Wh, less than a generative chatbot. However, SmartSearchWP’s model, restricted to your site’s content, consumes less than a chatbot operating on a large, open database.
Related resources:
- The energy used mainly powers the servers hosting the AI and the necessary cooling systems.

How SmartSearchWP limits its ecological footprint

Here are the pros and cons of integrating an AI chatbot on your WordPress site:

Advantages :

1. An AI model optimized for specific needs: Unlike generalist chatbots that draw on a massive database, SmartSearchWP focuses solely on the content of your WordPress site. This limits the calculations required, reducing energy consumption per query.

2. No unnecessary storage on the user side: Conversation history is only stored locally on the user’s browser, limiting the use of server resources.

3. Intelligent analytical tracking: Discussion logs are recorded solely to provide useful insights and optimize your content, but without requiring any additional calculations for the end user.

The environmental benefits of a closed circuit

The fact that SmartSearchWP works in a closed circuit (with your site’s content as the only knowledge base) brings environmental benefits:

Fewer complex calculations: AI models require fewer resources because they don’t have to analyze millions of pieces of external data.
Reduced digital waste: By limiting the scope of responses to your own content, the chatbot consumes less bandwidth and energy.

Towards digital sobriety with SmartSearchWP

At SmartSearchWP, we believe that technology can be both powerful and environmentally friendly. Our plugin offers an enhanced user experience while minimizing its ecological impact thanks to :

An infrastructure optimized for WordPress.
A lightweight configuration and reduced energy costs compared with more power-hungry alternatives.
Affordable running costs, in line with a responsible approach.

Key SmartSearchWP features :

Conversational search: the chatbot understands natural language queries and offers relevant answers based on the content of your site.
Advanced personalization: You can configure the chatbot to highlight specific products or services.
Query analysis: Thanks to the chat log, you can track the most frequent queries and adjust content to improve chatbot responses.

Conclusion

The environmental impact of a technological tool depends on its use and design. With SmartSearchWP, you benefit from a high-performance chatbot, designed to offer conversational search while respecting the principles of digital sobriety. Our commitment is to continuously improve the product so that it is both useful for your users and respectful of the planet.