By Agnes Applegate
Publication Date: 2026-03-23 09:11:00
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marie Pabelonio, a 38-year-old editorial lead at Google, based in the Bay Area. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been at Google since 2019, and as a writer, I knew AI would affect my role.
Looking back on my career trajectory, it feels like nothing short of a miracle that I ended up where I am. I graduated with an English degree in 2009, right after the financial crisis, and I’m now an editorial lead in people operations at Google, where I co-lead a small team that drafts and editorializes about 4,500-plus pages of HR policies. I’ve used AI to automate processes, refine drafts, templatize, and meet deadlines that would be impossible otherwise.
At this point, anyone, regardless of whether they’re a writer or not, has felt it: Is AI going to automate me? Is it going to eventually just replace my job? I don’t think I work more or less because of AI; I just work very…
