Helping more Americans build AI-powered businesses and careers

Last September, Google turned 25. Today, that small business that started in a garage in Northern California has grown to be a proudly American company with a physical presence in over half of all U.S. states, supporting more than 100,000 jobs. Our first product built in that garage, Google Search, laid the foundation for the economic impact we’ve been able to make since, helping millions of businesses reach customers and become part of the digital economy. Released today, our 2023 Economic Impact Report shows that last year Google services helped provide $739 billion in economic activity for millions of businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers across the U.S.

2023 was also a year when we started to see how generative AI is making a difference for small and medium-sized businesses, giving them new tools to grow, get things done and drive new streams of revenue. For the first time, business owners used AI tools like Gemini to build ad campaigns and reach new customers in Performance Max, respond to customers faster and produce helpful business insights in minutes, instead of hours.

This is only the beginning. AI-powered tools are going to continue to help businesses and communities unlock more productivity, creativity and opportunities in the years ahead. In fact, 82% of small business leaders that already use AI say that it will improve their business productivity in the next two years.

Embracing new technology to grow

Many companies have already experimented with AI tools to grow their businesses. Take Wisecut co-founder and CEO Ivo Machado, who left his native Brazil eight years ago to pursue new opportunities in the U.S. Ivo was working in video editing to pay the bills when he began exploring AI and thought, “What if there was an algorithm that could make these editing decisions for you in minutes instead of hours?” Ivo turned to his brother Vicente, a software developer, and they launched Wisecut in Miami in 2019. They used Google Search to grow their customer base, participated in the Google for Startups Latino Founders Fund, and in 2023 increased their users by 4,000% and tripled their employees. Today half a million creators use Wisecut’s AI features to save countless hours by automatically cutting and editing, adding subtitles, and more.

Moda Domani has been Kansas City’s premier destination for custom garments and clothing since 1986. Founder Anthonio Fakeri started using Google tools in 2013 and attributes 90% of new customers to his Google Business Profile. Since 2020, Moda Domani has used Google Workspace for appointment bookings, which now accounts for around 95% of new customers. Now, Anthonio’s son Noah is using Gemini to craft marketing emails and reinvests the time saved into growing the next phase of his family’s business.

Helping Americans benefit from new technology

Our investments in the American economy extend to helping American workers grow their skills and advance in their careers. Our Grow with Google programs have trained more than 11 million people in digital skills and emerging technology across the U.S. And over 250,000 Americans have graduated from the Google Career Certificate program, which offers job-ready training in fields like Cybersecurity, Data Analytics and IT support.

One recent graduate is Scarlet Castillo Sanchez, from Colorado, who frequently relocates because her husband is in the military. Looking for a more flexible job, Scarlet enrolled in the Google Data Analytics Certificate, and within two months of earning her certificate, landed a position as a data analyst at a communications company. This new role came with the option to work from home, a 40% salary increase, and provided her and her husband the stability to start a family.

This year’s report contains more stories like this from businesses, creators, startups, entrepreneurs and job seekers across the U.S. You can read it here.

Entrepreneurs and businesses are at the heart of America’s success story, and will be the engine for innovation in the future. At Google, we will keep working to get technology into the hands of more businesses and communities and to create opportunities for all Americans.