Google employees have begun using a new internal AI tool called “Agent Smith” that can automate tasks like coding, according to a report by Business Insider. The AI agent has become so popular inside the company that the tech giant had to restrict access to handle the sudden influx of employees using it.
What is Agent Smith? Why are Google employees using it?
Agent Smith is likely a reference to the popular character from the movie The Matrix, where Smith is a software agent inside the simulated world designed to monitor, control, and maintain order, and is capable of acting independently and intelligently.
Similarly, Agent Smith builds on Google’s Antigravity platform and possesses the ability to interact with various internal tools. The tool operates asynchronously in the background, allowing employees to check in and give it instructions directly from their phones without needing an active laptop.
Smith is not the first AI coding assistant at Google, but it is special because it has access to employee profiles and can autonomously pull up specific documents that employees would otherwise need to search for manually. The tool is also unique because it can be accessed directly from Google’s internal chat platform.
Reportedly, the new agentic AI tool is already proving to be a big help as the company pushes to adopt AI in order to boost efficiency.
When asked about Agent Smith, a Google spokesperson told Business Insider, “We’re always experimenting with new ways to build agents that solve real-world problems for people and businesses, but we don’t have anything to share right now.”
Sergey Brin teases the future of agents:
During a town hall meeting for sales employees in early March, Google co-founder Sergey Brin had also reportedly noted that agents will play a big role inside the company this year.
Brin is also said to have hinted that Google is developing a tool similar to OpenClaw. However, it is not clear if Agent Smith is truly Google’s answer to OpenClaw or if another tool is in the works.
Notably, OpenClaw had gone viral earlier this year as the open-source platform gained fame for its ability to carry out multi-step tasks by interacting directly with a user’s operating system. The platform, along with its creator Peter Steinberger, was later acquired by OpenAI. Meanwhile, Anthropic has also been steadily adding similar agentic AI features to Claude to prepare for the challenge.
Google ramps up internal AI adoption:
The introduction of Agent Smith comes at a time when Google leaders are increasing pressure on employees to integrate AI into their daily workflows.
Last year, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had focused on the importance of internal AI adoption in order to keep pace with competitors. Some engineers and employees in non-technical roles have reportedly been told that using AI tools is no longer just encouraged, but strictly expected.
In certain cases, Google employees have even been informed that their adoption of AI will be factored into their performance reviews.
