Google warns employees… “Search situation is not the same as in the past due to generative AI” < General Industry < Industry < Text of Article

Google’s search director held an all-staff meeting and urged the company to work harder to adapt to changes in the search environment caused by generative artificial intelligence (AI). This also appears to be an attempt to quell internal dissatisfaction that arose due to the recent Gemini incident and staff reductions.

CNBC reported on the 23rd (local time) that Google held an all-employee meeting at its headquarters theater in Mountain View, California last month and explained the recent situation inside and outside the company and urged them to work harder.

According to this, Prabhakar Raghavan, head of Google Search, spoke for about 35 minutes. He reports directly to CEO Sundar Pichai and directs 25,000 people in major groups including search, advertising, maps, and commerce.

First of all, “the situation is different from 15 to 20 years ago,” he said. “Just as athletes move faster in critical situations, we also need to move faster to match current market conditions.”

He emphasized that competition has become fiercer and the regulatory environment has become more stringent. Although it didn’t mention specific competitors, it did mention generative AI.

“People may have a new tool they like, but they still go to Google because it’s a trusted source, and that becomes even more important in the age of generative AI.”

Following last year, Google recently announced its intention to cut jobs to reduce costs. In addition, internal criticism erupted not long ago due to the racial bias issue of ‘Geminare’ and the complex product launch process.

Regarding this, Raghavan said, “Companies are spending much more money due to the introduction of generative AI.” He also explained that the slump in the smartphone and PC markets has slowed the growth of Google, which supplies software to these devices.

He pointed out that not only the United States but also the European Union (EU) is strengthening regulations through the Digital Market Act (DMA). Therefore, he repeatedly urged “to act quickly in response to such an important and critical situation.”

He also praised DeepMind, which developed Gemini. DeepMind said it worked 120 hours a week to quickly fix the tool after the problem occurred. However, the image creation function has not yet been released again.

An explanation was also provided for the company’s management. Employees have complained for years that Google’s growing bureaucracy has hurt its ability to get products to market quickly.

“It’s not Google’s way to get the contracts or approvals needed to bring a good idea to market,” he said, noting that executives are working to shorten the process to make decisions faster.

“We have learned a lot over the past few quarters,” Raghavan said. “I can’t say there were no mistakes,” he admitted, concluding, “But what’s important is what we learn and how we respond in the future.”

In response to this, a Google spokesperson commented, “We will improve search quality by adding generative AI,” and added, “More features will be provided in the future.”

Reporter Lim Da-jun [email protected]