Karanveer Anand
- Karanveer Anand, a technical program manager at Google, explained how AI is integrated into his work.
- AI tools like Gemini reduce time spent on administrative tasks and help with risk planning.
- Anand said Google rigorously trains employees on AI usage and other companies should do the same.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karanveer Anand, a 29-year-old technical program manager at Google. Business Insider has verified his identification and employment.
I joined Google about three years ago, and over the past year and a half, I've seen it become an AI-first company.
We have a lot of companywide AI training, organization-specific AI training for different teams, and hackathon challenges to help drive innovation.
AI will continue to do more over the months and years. But as of now, it helps me cut down on tasks so I can add more value and work on multiple projects at a time.
This is how I use AI for specific tasks in my job.
AI handles my administrative tasks
Google employees have access to Gemini for Google Workspace, which offers a built-in AI assistant for Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. It helps streamline my workflow and reduce time spent on repetitive administrative duties.
Gemini helps with tasks like scheduling meetings, project reports, and data input. These kinds of tools were especially useful when I worked on a Workspace project to improve the reliability of products in different regions. It was time-sensitive and critical for EU regulations so efficiency was crucial.
But it also helps save time with everyday tasks, like writing emails.
English is my second language so Gemini in Gmail has helped my communication become very polished. With Gemini, there are no grammatical mistakes and I don't have to focus on fixing the English. It also gives communication style options, like formal or casual, and summarizes my emails.
In my role, I'm responsible for assigning tasks to hundreds of software engineers. AI in Google Sheets assists by helping me match employees to different tasks based on a spreadsheet that includes their roles and skill sets. It saves me about two hours of time.
It helps with risk planning
As a technical program manager, I need to anticipate risks.
To help assess risk factors, I feed AI models historical data on various issues or bugs and ask what kind of risk it sees six months down the line.
The tool is able to map the theme of issues and predict future problems. This helps program management in reducing the risk because we can anticipate it and prepare in advance. The tool can also help me determine a project's timeline or predict delays.
Management should be intentional about AI
AI will increase productivity, but it doesn't offer leadership capabilities, strong soft skills, or strategic thinking. So, we need to know when not to use AI — and that can only be known if the basics and training of AI have been delivered.
As a technical program manager, I break down to employees which tasks should use AI and which should be done without it.
If things are up in the air, it's hard to track how much AI is actually being used and helping employees.