YOUR AI CHAT APPS MAY BE USING MORE DATA THAN YOU THINK

AI chat apps like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot are changing the way we use our phones. They can help you write messages, generate images, plan trips, or answer your most complex questions, all from your phone.

But here's something most people don't realize: your AI apps may be using much more data than you think, even when you're completing simple tasks. If you're creating images or videos, or using AI-powered voice assistants, these apps may be draining your mobile data even more than streaming videos or FaceTiming friends.

At Boost Mobile, we want to help you stay connected and get the most out of your phone plan, so let’s break down how AI apps affect your data usage and what you can do about it.

In This Article:

> How AI Uses Data

> Text-Based AI Chats

> Voice Assistant Data Use

> Image + Video Data Use

> Tips To Save Data 

> Is Your Plan AI-Ready?

How AI Chat Apps Use Mobile Data

Recent research highlights that GenAI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot generate a new type of mobile traffic that differs from conventional messaging apps like WhatsApp or Telegram. Even simple text prompts in AI apps can create sustained upstream (upload) and downstream (download) data activity, especially when compared to messaging apps where data bursts are short and predictable.

How AI Chats use data:

• Text-based prompts: ChatGPT and Copilot transmit responses in bursts, while Gemini can peak up to 10 KB/s upstream, significantly higher than messaging apps (<3 KB/s).

• Multimodal content: AI-generated images or videos drive much higher downstream and upstream loads, often maintaining a constant data drain even in between prompts. 

These patterns show that even if you’re just “chatting,” AI apps can quietly use significant amounts of mobile data, reinforcing the importance of a data-friendly phone plan or a reliable Wi-Fi connection while chatting. 

Text-Based Chats: Small but Not Zero

Text-only chats use the least amount of mobile data compared to other forms of AI communication. However, even if you're only typing your prompts, AI chat apps can use more data than you might expect.

Here’s why:

• Short prompts: Asking something simple, like “What’s the weather?” or “Define a word,” uses only a small amount of data. The app sends your question to the cloud, processes it, and returns a short text answer. This requires minimal data, but still may be more than texting.

• Longer conversations: If you’re giving multi-step instructions, asking the AI to help plan a project, or having a back-and-forth discussion, each message is sent and received in multiple chunks. Think of it like passing notes in class, each note counts as a little bit of data. Longer conversations mean more notes are sent back and forth, which adds up. 

The takeaway: Text-based AI chats are lighter than generating voice, images or videos, but they still use more data than sending a simple text or chatting in a messaging app. Over time, frequent or extended sessions can have a noticeable impact on your mobile data usage, especially if you’re not on an unlimited phone plan. Luckily with Boost Mobile you can add more high-speed data to your plan at any time for just $10/mo. 

AI Voice Assistants: Talking Can Cost You Data

AI voice assistants, like Siri, Google Assistant, or ChatGPT Voice Mode, are incredibly convenient for our daily lives. They can help you book a hotel, fill out forms, or even summarize emails. However, the way they send and receive information while in use can use more mobile data than most people realize.

The takeaway: Using voice assistants for everyday tasks is convenient, but multi-step instructions or AI voice responses can use more data than you might expect. If you’re using AI voice apps often, an Unlimited Boost Mobile plan ensures you won’t run into data limits while staying connected to all your favorite voice assistants. 

Image and Video Features: Higher Data Usage

Generating images or videos with AI is much more data-intensive than simple text chats. Even though uploading a text prompt might not use much data, the process of creating and receiving visual content involves several steps that can quickly add up.

Here’s what happens when AI creates an image or video for you:

1. Initial text caption download: When you request an image or video, the AI may first send a short text description or caption to your device. This part is relatively small in size. 
2. High-rate bursts for image delivery: After the caption, the actual image or video data is sent to your phone in what’s called “high-rate bursts.” Think of these bursts like a fast-moving stream of data arriving in a short period of time, like downloading a few songs all at once instead of one at a time. This is what makes image and video generation much heavier on your data than regular text chat.
3. Sustained upstream (upload) activity: While the AI is generating the visual content, your phone is constantly sending information to the cloud, your prompt, any edits, and sometimes intermediate steps. This continuous upload, known as sustained upstream traffic, can be a surprise for users who assume image generation only uses data when downloading the final file.

For comparison, messaging apps like WhatsApp only show short, isolated spikes when they send a small message or photo quickly and then stop the data transfer. AI apps, on the other hand, are actively transmitting and receiving data throughout the process.

The takeaway: If you’re generating visuals or videos through an AI app, expect substantially higher data use, especially for uploads. These high-rate bursts and sustained activity can quickly impact your mobile data plan if you’re not on Wi-Fi.