Google has launched an ambitious internal initiative called “Project EAT” designed to transform the tech giant into an “AI-powered workplace” by supercharging employees with cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities. The project, which originated in May 2025 as a grassroots employee initiative, operates within Google’s AI and Infrastructure unit (AI2), led by senior vice president Amin Vahdat, who reports directly to CEO Sundar Pichai.
According to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider, Project EAT’s mission is to accelerate the adoption and integration of both Google and third-party AI technologies across the organization, starting with the AI2 unit before expanding company-wide. The initiative aims to standardize AI product usage and help employees incorporate AI tools into their daily workflows, from productivity applications to advanced coding assistance.
The project’s name references the tech industry practice of “eating your own dog food” — internally testing and iterating products before public launch. During its 12-week seed stage, Project EAT piloted state-of-the-art code assistance tools within the AI2 organization, yielding “promising signs of improved developer velocity, reduced toil, and enhanced code quality,” according to internal FAQs.
The initiative’s ambitious vision statement outlines goals of dramatically higher productivity, greater employee engagement and collaboration, improved work quality, better work-life balance, and enhanced product innovation across Google. By positioning AI2 as the vanguard of this transformation, Google hopes to lead organizational change that will eventually permeate the entire company.
This internal push aligns with broader directives from Google leadership. In June 2024, engineering VP Megan Kacholia instructed engineers to use AI for coding, while CEO Sundar Pichai sent clear messages that competitors are leveraging AI and Google must do the same to remain competitive. The AI2 unit, which employs several thousand people, oversees critical infrastructure including data centers, AI chips (TPUs), and foundational technologies powering Google’s AI capabilities. As tech companies invest billions in AI capital expenditure, a substantial portion of Google’s spending flows into Vahdat’s organization, underscoring the strategic importance of this AI transformation effort.
Key Quotes
We envision a future where Google is transformed into an AI-powered workplace, leading to dramatically higher productivity, greater employee engagement and collaboration, improved quality of work, better work-life balance, and greater product innovation across the company.
This statement from Project EAT’s internal mission document outlines the ambitious scope of Google’s AI workplace transformation, emphasizing both productivity gains and employee wellbeing as core objectives of the initiative.
We aim to lead Google into this vision by first leading this organizational change within AI2.
This quote from the mission statement reveals Google’s strategic approach of using its AI and Infrastructure unit as a testing ground before rolling out AI workplace practices company-wide, demonstrating a measured deployment strategy.
The primary goal of Project EAT is to dramatically accelerate the adoption and integration of Google and 3rd party AI technologies within AI2.
From internal documents, this statement clarifies that Google isn’t limiting itself to proprietary tools but is willing to incorporate third-party AI technologies, suggesting a pragmatic approach to AI adoption focused on effectiveness rather than exclusivity.
We expect to improve standard practices across engineering, product management, TPM, and operations, thereby mitigating risks associated with the rapidly evolving external AI landscape and ensuring Google’s technological leadership.
This quote reveals Google’s defensive motivation — the company views comprehensive internal AI adoption as essential to maintaining competitive advantage as the AI landscape rapidly evolves and competitors embrace similar technologies.
Our Take
Project EAT reveals how seriously Google is taking the competitive threat from AI-native companies and AI-enhanced competitors. The fact that CEO Sundar Pichai elevated Amin Vahdat to SVP reporting directly to him underscores the strategic importance of AI infrastructure and internal adoption. What’s particularly noteworthy is Google’s willingness to use third-party AI tools alongside its own — a pragmatic admission that no single company has monopolized AI innovation.
The “dogfooding” approach is smart: by having AI infrastructure builders use AI tools intensively, Google creates a virtuous cycle where user feedback directly informs product development. However, the 12-week pilot’s focus on “developer velocity” and “reduced toil” also hints at the pressure Google faces to do more with existing headcount amid industry-wide efficiency drives. This isn’t just about innovation — it’s about competitive survival in an AI-first era where companies that fail to leverage AI risk falling behind irreversibly.
Why This Matters
Project EAT represents a critical inflection point in how major tech companies are integrating AI into their own operations, not just their products. Google’s systematic approach to becoming an “AI-powered workplace” signals that AI adoption is moving beyond customer-facing applications to fundamentally reshaping internal workflows and productivity standards. This matters because Google is essentially becoming a living laboratory for AI workplace transformation, testing tools and practices that could eventually influence how organizations worldwide implement AI.
The initiative’s placement within the AI and Infrastructure unit is particularly significant, as this group controls the foundational technologies — chips, data centers, and infrastructure — that power AI systems. By prioritizing AI adoption among the engineers and teams building AI infrastructure, Google is creating a feedback loop where those developing AI technologies are also power users, potentially accelerating innovation cycles.
For the broader tech industry and workforce, Project EAT offers a preview of how AI will reshape knowledge work, from coding to project management. The emphasis on “improved developer velocity” and “reduced toil” suggests AI will increasingly handle routine tasks, potentially redefining job roles and raising questions about workforce skills, training, and the future nature of technical work across industries.
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