Rumor has it that reforms are underway within Google’s advertising team. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, some employees may no longer be needed.

Internal sources at Google indicate that a restructuring is underway within the Google advertising team. Digital advertising has been Google’s cash cow for years: the technology giant has 30,000 salespeople in its ranks who sell advertising. This could be significantly reduced next year as Google wants to fully concentrate on automation.

Google already uses generative AI tools to generate marketing texts for advertisers. These artificial advertising tools require only a limited amount of overhead, which means that the profit margins that Google earns from ads continue to increase. This makes digital advertising an incredibly lucrative business for Google: According to The Information’s sources, they can generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually.

Because modern AI is not yet 100 percent reliable, Google employs around 13,500 people who need to monitor the performance of its AI advertising tools. But the better generative AI artificial intelligence gets, the faster human controllers will eventually become obsolete. Google is already reportedly planning to “consolidate” its advertising staff, meaning some will be given different positions but others will be at risk of being laid off.

AI as a new workforce?

Only time will tell what it actually means. The rumor will fuel theories that the AI ​​boom is endangering human jobs. If a technology leader like Google decides that AI can perfectly take over the work of human employees, it can convince other business leaders of the same. A recent survey by Digitate shows that as many as ninety percent of companies want to increase automation.

More automation does not necessarily have to mean replacing human workers: AI can just as easily ensure that people have more time and space for more creative work. But it is gradually becoming clear that we as humans must adapt to a new reality in the workplace with AI.