Google Cloud, Accenture Deploy AI Engineers to Enterprises

Google Cloud and Accenture are teaming up to build a new unit that puts engineers directly inside client companies to help them use Google's AI tools. The group, called the Accenture Gemini Enterprise Business Group, marks Google's entry into a staffing model known as "forward-deployed engineers," where technical staff embed with customers rather than wait for them to figure out implementation on their own. OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and Amazon have all rolled out similar units in the past year, each betting that deploying AI models, not just building them, could become a business worth trillions on its own.

The stakes behind that bet are steep. Google Cloud pulled in $24.8 billion in revenue last quarter, with enterprise AI driving much of that growth, but Alphabet has also piled up $811 billion in purchase commitments and contractual obligations as of June 30, according to reports. Hyperscalers across the industry are pouring hundreds of billions into GPUs, data centers and power capacity, and the returns so far don't match the outlay. Enterprises, meanwhile, are still trying to figure out how to get real value out of what they're already buying.