Google CEO says more than 25 percent of company's new code written by AI

More than a quarter of Google's new code is being generated by artificial intelligence (AI), CEO Sundar Pichai revealed during Tuesday's third-quarter earnings call for the leading tech company.

"We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said during the call.

"Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster."

Pichai's revelation marks the latest indication of how AI is reshaping software development as Google seeks to keep up with competitors in the space.

Pichai said Google parent Alphabet's investments in AI are "paying off." This has included bolstering Google's Gemini AI chatbot and AI-powered search features.

"Our commitment to innovation, as well as our long-term focus and investment in AI, are paying off and driving success for the company and for our customers," he said on the call. "We are uniquely positioned to lead in the era of AI because of our differentiated full stack approach to AI innovation, and we’re now seeing this operate at scale."

He said this "full stack" approach includes AI infrastructure with data centers, chips, and a global fiber network, along with research teams and a "broad global reach."

The company earned $26.3 billion during the most recent quarter, a 34 percent increase from a year ago, while revenue rose 15 percent from the same period last year to $88.27 billion.

"Our technology leadership and AI portfolio are helping us attract new customers, win larger deals, and drive 30 percent deeper product adoption with existing customers," Pichai said.

A large part of this growth was brought by Google's cloud business, which generated a quarterly revenue of $11.4 billion. This was up 35 percent from the same period last year, Pichai said.

Pichai also boasted growth with YouTube's combined ad and subscription revenue, which surpassed $50 billion over the past four quarters.

His comments came just weeks after Google signed a deal with Kairos Power to use small modular nuclear reactors to power AI data centers.

The small modular reactors are a type of next-generation nuclear reactor that have yet to be built in the U.S. but are expected to be completed between 2030 and 2035. They will produce 500 megawatts of power.

Nuclear serves as a key carbon-free source of energy at a time when the tech giant is struggling to cut its emissions and reach its goal of becoming net-zero by the end of the decade. Google’s emissions rose 13 percent in 2023 and are up 48 percent since 2019.