‘Work smarter, not bigger’: Google is rewriting how work gets done, tells staff to rely on AI, not colleagues

At a recent all-hands meeting, Google’s top brass made their expectations clear. The company isn’t just investing in artificial intelligence; it wants its employees to adapt to it quickly. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, spoke directly to staff about the balance between big investment and tight resources.

“Anytime you go through a period of extraordinary investment, you respond by adding a lot of headcount, right? But in this AI moment, I think we have to accomplish more by taking advantage of this transition to drive higher productivity,” he said, according to an internal audio recording obtained by CNBC.

Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is now planning to spend $85 billion on capital projects in 2025. That’s up from the earlier $75 billion projection. Most of that spending will likely go into infrastructure to support AI models and services.

But while capital spending is rising, hiring is not.
“We are going to be going through a period of much higher investment and I think we have to be frugal with our resources, and I would strive to be more productive and efficient as a company,” Pichai added. He also said he was “very optimistic” about how the company is currently performing.

Live Events

Competition pushing the AI agenda

Pichai also acknowledged the broader competition in the tech world, saying, “We are competing with other companies in the world. There will be companies which will become more efficient through this moment in terms of employee productivity, which is why I think it’s important to focus on that.”

The push towards tighter teams and AI-driven work isn’t unique to Google. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently told his staff that its corporate workforce would shrink over time as more tasks are handled by AI tools.
In a company-wide email, Jassy wrote employees should start “to get more done with scrappier teams.”Microsoft’s Julia Liuson, who leads its developer tools division, told staff in June that “using AI is no longer optional.” Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke went even further in April, telling teams they must show that AI cannot do the job before asking for more people or funding.

Making Google’s engineers more ‘AI-savvy’

At the same meeting, Brian Saluzzo laid out the company’s internal roadmap for rolling out AI tools across engineering teams.

“We feel the urgency to really quickly and urgently get AI into more of the coding workflows to address top needs so you see a much more rapid increase in velocity,” said Saluzzo, who oversees the technical foundations behind Google’s core products.

To do that, Google has been building a suite of internal tools and learning platforms. Saluzzo pointed to a site called AI Savvy Google, which includes toolkits, courses and sessions tailored to specific product areas. The goal is to make sure all engineers — not just AI specialists — can use these technologies in their daily work.

He added, “We have a portfolio of AI products available to employees so folks can go faster.”

DeepMind partnership and new internal tools

Google’s engineering education team has partnered with DeepMind to create a training programme titled Building with Gemini. The course is aimed at teaching employees how to build effectively using Google’s Gemini AI platform and will be rolled out soon.

Another key tool is Cider, an internal AI-powered coding assistant. Since launching in May, it has already seen 50 percent weekly usage among staff. Saluzzo said this kind of tool will soon become part of everyday software development.

“They’ll become a pretty integral part of most SWE work,” he said, referring to software engineers.

He also noted, “Employees should expect them to continuously get better.”

Windsurf deal adds firepower

Google is not just building tools. It’s bringing in top talent to accelerate the shift. Earlier this month, the company acquired Windsurf, a high-profile AI startup, in a $2.4 billion deal. As part of the acquisition, co-founder and CEO Varun Mohan, along with key research and engineering staff, joined Google.

Commenting on the hire, Pichai said, “I think they will end up helping a lot in this area as well.”

Alphabet’s employee numbers have risen slightly in recent quarters, but remain below the company’s 2023 peak of nearly 191,000 full-time staff. As of the end of June, that figure stands at just over 187,000, based on Alphabet’s latest financial filing.

Back in early 2023, Google cut about 6 percent of its workforce and has continued making targeted reductions, including offering buyouts in some departments.

The message from leadership is consistent: leaner teams, smarter tools, and faster output.

Google declined to comment on the contents of the meeting.

But the direction is clear. The company is placing its bets on AI — and expects its people to move with it.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}