For Googlers, moving forward at work doesn't mean building AI. They are expected to work for it too.
Over the past few months, pressure has risen within Google to help employees use AI tools to increase productivity in their daily work. Other tech giants like Google and Microsoft are looking to push AI frontiers for new products, so they're looking at ways to boost their businesses. This means having employees on board.
In June, Google Engineering Vice President Megan Kacholia sent an email to software engineers to use AI tools to improve coding. The email also states that some engineer role profiles, which describe tasks and obligations for a particular job, have been updated to include mentions that they use AI to resolve issues.
With every hand at the tournament with the entire company, CEO Sundar Pichai sent a simple message to the military. Employees need to use AI for Google to lead this race. Pichai said rivals would use AI, so Google should make sure it does the same in order to compete.
Google, which uses Gemini AI models to race Openai and others, uses internal learning programs to experiment with atmospheric coding by staff and using other AI tools to increase productivity.
Managers are urging staff to prove they are familiar with AI, according to several current employees who asked them to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak to the media.
Some employees told Business Insider that they asked managers to show how they use AI every day.
“It seems like it's easy to have to use it to move forward,” he told Business Insider.
“It's still mostly 'Are you hitting your numbers?',” the sales employee said. “But it pays off when you use AI to develop new workflows that others can use effectively.”
A Google spokesperson said the company is proactively encouraging Google to use AI in its daily work, but it has not evaluated its staff as part of its performance review.
New guidelines for Google Engineers
An email to staff at Cacholia in June included a link to a set of guidelines updates on how engineers can use AI in their work. Guidelines created by Google Engineers included best practices on whether employees should use AI or not using coding, based on the capabilities of Google's internal model.
Related Stories
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know
According to guidelines, engineers should only use internal models for coding. Employees who want to use third-party AI tools for tasks that are not coding must first obtain approval.
Other tech companies have similar rules to prevent employees from entering sensitive internal information into external systems. At Amazon, employees are asking companies to employ AI coding assistant cursors that require sign-offs from leadership.
Googles was also told that code generated by AI is still considered employee work and therefore must adhere to Google's standards.
The note stated that employees should be “DogFooding” with Google's AI software coding tool. That means, according to two people who saw the email, the new product should be tested internally before it is released to the public.
The spokesman has turned to Business Insider a recently published company blog outlining how Google can use AI.
“Using AI as a co-partner allows us to spend time on the most innovative, strategic and fulfilling parts of our work,” reads the blog.
Google wants to have coders in AI all
Especially when it comes to coding, Google says it already sees great benefits thanks to the help of AI.
Pichai said earlier this year that Google measured engineers' productivity gains from AI, estimated a 10% increase. During Alphabet's first quarter 2025 revenue calls, Pichai said that over 30% of the code written in Google was generated by AI and from the 25% or more figures cited in the previous October.
Google also spent $2.4 billion last month hiring several key members of AI coding startup Windsurf, including CEO Varun Mohan. Google said at the time that it had done Acquihire to work on “Agent Coding.”
Google Deepmind Demis Hassabis and Google co-founder Sergey Brin have urged employees to use more AI for coding. Jeffrey Dustin/Reuters
Google engineers recommend using Cider, an internal development tool that includes coding agents, said several current employees. For each internal document reviewed by Business Insider, Cider runs “Gemini for Google” (a variety of internal models known as Goose, previously known as Goose), which was trained on Google's internal technical data. At a meeting last month, employees were told they were meeting with more tools approaching.
Using AI in software engineering can create a skill gap between those who use AI effectively and those who do not.
This means that leaders need to have as many employees as possible. According to first-hand knowledge employees, in June, YouTube held a “Vibe Coding” week to help employees promote the way AI tools can help software engineers. Scott Silver, YouTube's Vice President of Engineering, ran the event and promoted it.
It's not just coding. Googlers of Sales and Legal Divisions also told Business Insider that their managers were asked to incorporate AI into their workflows using tools such as Notebooklm to gather information from various documents using AI. Some employees are trained to create GEMS (a custom version of Google's Gemini AI) for specific roles, one employee said.
Googlers react to these changes
Employee Business Insider said they didn't push back the idea of using AI more at work. They all said they felt that being familiar with AI was the way to go on Google.
Some people enjoyed Googleers' recent changes to the role profile of Memegen, Google's internal message board.
“If AI actually increases productivity, it doesn't have to be in the role profile,” read the Googler memes seen by Business Insider.
Another read: “You're great when technology is forced to praise it to work and to maintain a living.”
Speaking to Business Insider, Google said it considers these changes to be inevitable as its competitors are also using AI in its workforce.
“Some are really excited about it,” said one engineer. “But some people reluctantly do that because they don't want to be left behind.”
Is there anything to share? Please contact this reporter by email hlangley@businessinsider.com Or a signal at 628-228-1836. Use your personal email address and unprocessed devices. Here's a guide to sharing information safely.
