EcoGPT Plants Trees With Every 100 Chats
The AI assistant funds tree planting in Africa and has reached five million total users.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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EcoGPT, an AI assistant running on small open source models, plants one tree every 100 chats on a free account and one every 50 chats on a Pro account. The company reports five million total users and more than 435,000 trees planted in its first six months.
Why it matters
The launch offers an alternative to larger AI systems, with founder Ethan Leonard citing concerns about bigger models, rising energy use, and personal data used for training. The model also ties everyday AI use to reforestation work in East Africa.
EcoGPT's figures come from company reporting, with five million total users and more than 435,000 trees planted in six months. The company's website states it cannot guarantee zero data retention, and the independence of the planting figures has not been established.
The players
EcoGPT
An AI assistant company that runs small open source models and funds tree planting with each chat, incorporated as a Delaware public benefit corporation.
Ethan Leonard
The founder of EcoGPT, who dropped out of the University of Washington to build the company and has criticized the direction of the AI industry.
Trees for the Future
A nonprofit that works with farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and receives EcoGPT's funding for tree planting.
International Energy Agency
An intergovernmental energy body that publishes global energy forecasts, including its projection of AI electricity consumption.
The details
EcoGPT funds tree planting through Trees for the Future, a nonprofit working with farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its small open source models run on AI servers in a seawater-cooled data center in Google Cloud's Finland region, and requests can fall back to other providers through OpenRouter when primary servers are unavailable.
Timeline
Six months before publication: Ethan Leonard dropped out of the University of Washington to build EcoGPT, and the AI assistant launched.
October 15: EcoGPT had funded 172,592 trees to be planted.
2027: EcoGPT targets planting one million trees.
2030: The International Energy Agency projects AI will consume 945 terawatt hours of electricity.
Big Picture
EcoGPT positions itself against large-model AI assistants by running smaller open source models and tying usage to reforestation. The International Energy Agency's projection of 945 terawatt hours of AI electricity use by 2030 frames the energy concern behind that positioning.
Free accounts allow up to 500 messages per day with ads between chats, while a Pro account costs $10 per month without ads and plants a tree every 50 chats instead of every 100. Users who want to avoid ads or plant trees faster can compare the two tiers before choosing.
The takeaway
Choosing an AI tool with a stated environmental or data policy lets users weigh convenience against energy use and privacy. Checking whether a service's data retention and fallback practices match your needs is a practical first step.
What happens next
EcoGPT has set a goal of planting one million trees by 2027, a milestone that will show whether its current pace is sustained.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in our Artificial Intelligence section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Inc..
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