Small business owners could free up one day each working week if they used artificial intelligence (AI) to help with everyday tasks, according to new estimates by Google.
Research by the technology giant, along with economic analysis from research agency Public First, found AI-powered tools could boost productivity among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by 20%.
Debbie Weinstein, Google’s EMEA president, said business leaders can use the technology for tasks such as writing marketing copy and blog posts, through to developing ideas into actionable plans.
She also said such tools can help people with learning differences like dyslexia “communicate most effectively”.
“I think it allows people to get their creative ideas out of their heads and onto paper and into the real world,” she told the PA news agency.
“I think all of us are going to be using these tools as part of our daily work.”
Google recently promised to invest £5 billion in the UK in the next two years to help meet growing demand for AI services, such as its Workspace programme which has Gemini – its so-called AI assistant- built in.
AI chatbot ChatGPT has also ballooned in popularity, with hundreds of millions of users around the world. Meanwhile, tech giant Microsoft is a close partner of ChatGPT’s maker OpenAI and sells its own AI chatbot service Copilot.
Ms Weinstein stressed the “most important thing that people can do is upskill themselves on these tools and how they apply to their particular roles”.
It comes amid concerns more firms will turn to AI tools over hiring workers for certain roles.
Hays, one of Europe’s biggest recruitment agencies, warned last week that labour cost pressures in the UK were pushing employers to explore automation and offshoring.
More businesses were thinking about work processes where “humans are essential” and then looking to digitise or outsource the rest, the company found.
Google insists the technology will boost productivity among businesses in the UK.
It has partnered with the Department for Business and Trade to launch a nationwide tour, with pop-ups in Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Cardiff to help SMEs use AI.
Peter Kyle, the Business and Trade Secretary, said: “AI is transforming the way we work and this partnership with Google will give small businesses vital hands-on experience of how to capitalise on the many benefits of AI to innovate, grow and compete on the global stage.”
