Since stepping back from day-to-day duties, Mr. Page and Mr. Brin have taken a laissez-faire approach to Google, two people familiar with the matter said. They have let Mr. Pichai run the company and its parent company, Alphabet, while they have pursued other projects, such as flying car start-ups and disaster relief efforts.
The re-engagement of Google's founders, at the invitation of the company's current chief executive, Sundar Pichai, emphasized the urgency felt among many Google executives about artificial intelligence. Chatbot, ChatGPT, which was released by the small San Francisco company OpenAI two months ago, amazed users by simply explaining complex concepts and generating ideas from scratch. More important to Google, it looked as if it could offer a new way to search for information on the internet.
The new A.I. technology has shaken Google out of its routine. Mr. Pichai declared a “code red,” upending existing plans and jump-starting A.I. development. Google now intends to unveil more than 20 new products and demonstrate a version of its search engine with chatbot features this year, according to a slide presentation reviewed by The New York Times and two people with knowledge of the plans who were not authorized to discuss them.
At the same time, Alphabet is scaling back its work force. On Friday, the company said it would cut about 12,000 jobs after a hiring spree during the pandemic and amid concerns of a slowing economy. The layoffs were designed “to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company,” Mr. Pichai wrote in a note to employees.
“This is a moment of significant vulnerability for Google,” said D. Sivakumar, a former Google research director who helped found a start-up called Ton
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