Why Google's 'Polite' AI Tool Is Raising Employee Eyebrows

Google’s TGIF meetings have long been a hallmark of open dialogue and transparency within the company. These monthly gatherings allowed employees to ask tough questions and hear straight answers from the top brass, including CEO Sundar Pichai. However, recent changes to these meetings are leaving many employees disappointed.

Earlier this year, Google introduced a new AI tool called Ask, which streamlines the question-and-answer process at TGIF meetings. While the intention behind this move was to make things more efficient, many Googlers feel the AI is doing more than summarizing inquiries — it’s softening them. Employees are now questioning whether Ask was designed to avoid addressing the hard-hitting issues they want leadership to confront.

Google’s AI Tool: A Shift in TGIF Meetings

Google’s new AI tool has significantly changed how its TGIF meetings operate. Previously, employees could submit their queries through a platform called Dory, where others could upvote the most pressing or popular inquiries. Leadership would then respond to the most upvoted questions, even if they were on the more uncomfortable side.

However, Google recently replaced Dory with Ask, an AI-powered system that now consolidates and summarizes employee topics for discussion. According to Google, it meant for this change to streamline the process, avoid repetitiveness and allow for leaders to address more inquiries.

On paper, it seems like a win for efficiency. The company even claims that engagement has increased, with twice as many employees now participating in submitting and voting on questions.

Not everyone is convinced. Some employees feel the Ask tool is doing more than making meetings run smoothly. The AI’s summaries soften the tone of more pointed questions, removing the bite from inquiries that were once direct and challenging. Critics argue that this allows leadership to sidestep issues, replacing the once-candid discussions with more controlled, sanitized responses.

For many, the meetings have become less engaging. Some workers have even stopped attending, feeling that the opportunity to ask tough questions no longer exists. As a result, there is a growing apprehension that Google’s leadership is using Ask to manage the narrative.

The Broader Implications of AI in Internal Communications

The introduction of Google’s Ask tool raises an important question — could AI tools like this reshape internal communication in companies beyond Google? While Ask aims to improve efficiency, its ability to soften and filter doubts may be a potential risk for businesses everywhere.

There’s no doubt that event technology is a huge time- and money-saver. Almost 90% of businesses using event tech save around 200 hours a year — a huge chunk of employees’ time that’s better spent on the more creative aspects of their role. However, there’s a real anxiety that they could use these tools to control employee voices. AI’s capacity to summarize and paraphrase queries can certainly help avoid redundancies.

However, it also opens the door for leadership to sidestep challenging topics. By softening the language — these tools can make tough questions easier to answer — but that comes at the cost of transparency.

In workplaces where employees rely on open forums to raise matters, AI could lead to more scripted dialogues. Workers may feel discouraged from asking difficult questions if they believe AI will water down their concerns. This could result in a breakdown of trust between team members and leadership, weakening the company culture.

Moreover, organizations risk alienating their workforce as companies increasingly integrate AI to handle more aspects of communication. Workers may view these tools as a buffer to protect management rather than to foster more openness.

With transparency crucial for employee engagement, the misuse of AI could create a culture of frustration and poor communication, costing establishmentsan average of $1.2 trillion every year.

The Ethics of Rephrasing Employee Concerns

Tools like Ask raise serious doubts about transparency and fairness in internal dialogue. The main concern with AI-driven systems is that they could keep team members from raising genuine concerns.

By summarizing or rephrasing inquiries, these tools risk stripping away the urgency or tone of critical feedback. This could create an environment that shields leaders from the realities of employee sentiment, making it harder for real issues to surface.

Research has supported these concerns. Studies have shown that some machine learning (ML) algorithms lack transparency and consistency — often known as “black box” algorithms — which prevent any detection of biases.

This raises issues about the accountability and responsibility of companies that use such systems. In Google’s case, the Ask tool could prevent leadership from understanding the true depth of employee concerns, especially regarding sensitive questions.

Moreover, a growing body of research indicates that organizations must be prepared to handle these ethical dilemmas. Studies found that 84% of HR executives need more direction to ensure that new AI tools are fair and unbiased.

When leadership relies on AI to filter employee questions, is it truly engaging with its workforce? AI is an excellent tool for managing loads of communication. Yet, companies must avoid using it to distance themselves from the realities their employees face.

How Businesses Can Use AI While Maintaining Transparent Internal Communication

When using AI, businesses should prioritize transparency, ensuring that employees feel heard clearly without interference from algorithms that may skew their original intent. With that in mind, here are a few ways to maintain transparency in meetings when using AI tools like Ask.

1. Establish Channels for Feedback

While AI revolutionizes how companies operate, employees should still have direct avenues to express concerns about how they are using these tools. Businesses should encourage workers to provide input on how AI systems impact communication.

This strategy will help leaders realize the impact the technology is creating, whether enhancing transparency or eroding it. As such, they can make adjustments to address any lack of openness or fairness before AI tools compromise trust.

2. Implement Human Oversight

Relying solely on AI to post employee queries can be risky, as 71% of surveyed workers cited they would lose trust in AI if it produced inaccurate outputs consistently. That is why human oversight is crucial. Business leaders should integrate a system where human supervisors review sensitive questions to ensure AI is not misrepresenting any important issues.

They could also give employees the autonomy to escalate their queries if they feel the AI’s processes are inadequate. By enabling these options, executives can still take accountability in handling delicate matters.

3. Enable AI Tools to Provide Balanced Responses

Organizational leaders should also ensure responses are complete and fair. Doing so prevents the perception that they are using these tools to dodge challenging topics. This tactic also guarantees more purposeful discussions as AI provides a balanced representation of the issues, resulting in more trust and open communication.

Balancing Efficiency and Transparency

As more businesses use AI tools to manage internal communications, it is vital to ensure these technologies do not come at the cost of transparency. AI may be able to streamline meetings, but companies must be careful not to let these systems dilute employees’ concerns. Instead, they should strike a balance to preserve workers’ trust and ensure the technology builds connection rather than division.