I run an executive search firm, Joseph Michaels International, and I host The Top Five News Show, five stories in five minutes, every weekday at 5 PM ET. I love technology. I use it all day long. Which is exactly why I want to talk about a little puzzle that Google can solve for a whole lot of people around the world.
Here it is. Like millions of business owners, I have a personal Google account and a Google Workspace account for my company. Google sees those as two different people. Google’s own help page says it “isn’t currently possible to merge separate Google Accounts.” So my phone, my browser and half my apps play a guessing game every morning about which Joe showed up. Sometimes they guess wrong at the exact moment I need them most.
I bought three computers and a Chromebook trying to fix it. The computers were innocent. It turns out the wall between the two accounts is there by design.
How many people are in the same boat?
I asked. According to Gemini, Google’s own AI, 150 to 300 million people juggle a personal Google account and a separate Workspace account. That’s founders, freelancers, consultants, real estate agents, coaches and owners of companies of every size, in every country. That’s a lot of very loyal customers who would love one login that just knows who they are.
Patch day, with a smile
While I was at it, I checked the system updates on my phone. Microsoft just shipped its October patch. My phone says Google’s last system update was September 1.
Six weeks without finding a single bug would make Google the first software company in history. 😄
I’m not mad at Google. Honestly, I think they’re going to thank me for this one.
A friendly offer
Google is building incredible AI agents that can run calendars, write emails and handle whole projects. I’d settle for one that knows the business owner and the person are the same guy. That feels like a weekend project for the team that built search.
So here’s my offer, and it stands: have your best engineer give me a call, and we’ll work through it together. And because I’m a recruiter, I promise not to poach him or her. Well, probably.
In the meantime, what works for me
Until the fix arrives, here is what keeps me sane:
- Pick one main account. For most owners, that’s the business Workspace account.
- Give each account its own Chrome profile, with its own color, so they never share a browser window.
- Sign into your main account first in any browser, so it becomes the default.
- On your phone, remove any account you don’t truly need there.
It works. It just shouldn’t take a checklist to be yourself.
If you’re one of those 150 to 300 million, I’d love to hear how you handle it. Drop a comment below or connect with me on LinkedIn. And catch The Top Five News Show, every weekday at 5 PM ET, where Google is always welcome to call in.
Joe Pelayo
Dallas, TX