About this index

FAQ

Is this an official number?

No. There is no IEA- or USGS-equivalent authority for token consumption. This is an independent, open estimate. The headline is a reported floor (real usage is higher) plus a clearly-marked estimated band.

Why “floor” instead of a single total?

Because a confident single number would be wrong. Summing only verifiable, non-overlapping disclosures gives a defensible lower bound that can’t be inflated by double-counting or guesswork. Estimates sit above it, explicitly labeled.

What counts as a “token”?

It varies by source: input vs output vs cached tokens are counted differently, and multimodal (image/video/audio) tokens inflate counts. We preserve what each source reported rather than forcing a single definition, and flag this as a known limitation.

How often is it updated?

On a manual, dated pass, each observation carries a verified_date. The figures move fast (Google’s throughput grew ~7× in a year), so treat older quarters as snapshots. Data last verified 2026-07-16.

Can I use the data?

Yes. It’s all in the open repository as CSVs. If you cite it, please link back and note it’s a reported floor plus estimates.

Sources

Every disclosure in the reported floor, with its archived snapshot.