Google parent Alphabet plans to expand its engineering workforce into 2026, even as other US tech giants, including Microsoft, trim staff amid rising AI investment costs. Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech conference, CEO Sundar Pichai reaffirmed Google’s commitment to growing its engineering base, emphasising that human talent remains central to leveraging AI’s potential. He positioned AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, engineers by streamlining routine tasks and increasing overall productivity.

While acknowledging AI’s strengths—particularly in coding—Pichai also noted its persistent limitations, such as making basic mistakes. He cautioned against assuming a guaranteed path to artificial general intelligence (AGI), the hypothetical point at which AI matches human performance across all tasks.

Google has faced scrutiny over its integration of AI-generated answers in search results, which publishers argue could reduce web traffic. In response, Pichai stressed that the company designs AI features with the intent of preserving and even boosting quality traffic to external sites. He noted that Google’s AI Overviews were extensively tested to ensure they prioritised user engagement and link visibility.

These statements come amid a broader backdrop of AI-driven workforce restructuring across the tech industry. While layoffs raise concerns about automation displacing human roles, Google’s approach suggests a more measured integration of AI, focusing on augmentation rather than replacement.

Pichai, who became CEO in 2015, joked when asked about his successor that the future Google leader would undoubtedly have an “extraordinary AI companion,” highlighting AI’s increasing role in shaping leadership and decision-making.