Google Invests $10 Million to Boost AI Adoption Among Small Businesses

New initiatives to help small businesses grow with AI

AI is rapidly changing how we live and work, offering opportunities for businesses of all sizes. For small businesses and entrepreneurs, AI can help level the playing field. That's why Google is committed to making AI accessible and beneficial for small businesses nationwide. Today at the Annual America's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Conference in Atlanta, Google.org and Grow with Google announced two new initiatives to help small businesses succeed with AI. Here's a look at the details of these programs, including how to access them if you're a small business owner yourself. Google.org will provide $10 million in funding to America's SBDC, a national network of centers that provides training and resources to small business entrepreneurs. This funding will support the creation of America's SBDC AI U, which will provide small business owners with AI training and tools and will establish AI Clinics at SBDCs housed at university and community college campuses. With training from America's SBDC AI Clinic Advisors, university and community college students will provide hands-on instruction and consultation to small businesses in their communities. America's SBDC will also receive scholarships to the Google AI Essentials course to help train the AI Clinic Advisors. Grow with Google is also launching a new AI workshop to help small businesses take advantage of Google's AI-powered tools. America's SBDC will incorporate this training -- which will feature case studies, demos and hands-on activities including prompting exercises -- as a module within their broader AI U curriculum. Developed with input from experts at Google and insights from small businesses, the no-cost training is available on demand at g.co/grow/AIforSMBs. Grow with Google Digital Coaches will also teach the training locally throughout the U.S. If you run a small business, you can check out grow.google/digital-coaches to find and connect with a Digital Coach near you. Learning how to effectively use AI can simplify the process of running a small business and help businesses grow. Cece Meadows, the founder and CEO of Prados Beauty, knows this firsthand. Cece uses AI tools to save time on everyday tasks and brainstorm ideas to develop her business. "Now, it only takes me an hour to complete tasks that used to take me one or two days," she says. Like Cece, 82% of small business leaders using AI have already seen positive outcomes such as improved productivity, increased sales and more informed decision-making.

Google Gives $10 Million to Help Small Businesses Use AI | PYMNTS.com

Google has introduced a pair of initiatives to help small businesses integrate artificial intelligence (AI). The tech giant is providing $10 million in funding to America's Small Business Development Center (SDBC), a network of centers providing training and resources to entrepreneurs, Google announced Thursday (Sept. 12). The news comes as small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly turning to AI to solve a variety of tasks. "This funding will support the creation of America's SBDC AI U, which will provide small business owners with AI training and tools and will establish AI Clinics at SBDCs housed at university and community college campuses," Google wrote on its blog. "With training from America's SBDC AI Clinic Advisors, university and community college students will provide hands-on instruction and consultation to small businesses in their communities. America's SBDC will also receive scholarships to the Google AI Essentials course to help train the AI Clinic Advisors." In addition, the company's Grow with Google initiative is launching an AI workshop to help small businesses take advantage of Google's AI-powered tools. SBDC will incorporate this training -- featuring case studies, demos and hands-on activities like prompting exercises -- as a part of its overall AI curriculum, Google said. "AI is no longer just the domain of large corporations with deep pockets and extensive tech teams," PYMNTS wrote recently. "However, the ways that Main Street SMBs can unlock growth through strategic applications of AI looks a little different from the approaches being taken by their larger enterprise counterparts." And smaller businesses aren't just playing catch-up, that report noted. They're leveraging the technology in ways suited to their scale and operations, from better access to working capital, to marketing and workflow automation. "In contrast to large enterprises, which might use AI to optimize global supply chains, SMBs are applying AI at a more localized level," PYMNTS wrote. "A small auto repair shop, for instance, might use AI to predict which parts will be needed most frequently based on historical data, reducing the need for large inventories and ensuring that commonly needed parts are always in stock." By the same token, AI could help a local retail store optimize schedules based on customer foot traffic patterns, making sure it has the right number of employees at the right times.