How is Google Helping Entrepreneurs Build Crucial AI Skills?

From small businesses to international organisations, AI is being used everywhere to aid innovation, competitiveness and increase productivity.

A nationwide training programme has been developed in the US to help small business owners interested in AI to save time, grow revenue and reach more customers than ever.

The Small Business B(AI)sics initiative aims to reach 40,000 entrepreneurs over the next three years by offering in-person training, creating virtual resources and amplifying success stories.

US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark said in a post on its website: “We are helping Main Street entrepreneurs embrace cutting-edge technology to make their companies stronger, more resilient and more competitive.”

Announced at the US Chamber of Commerce CO-100 conference on 16 October, Google said it would be giving the US Chamber of Commerce and its retrospective Foundation US$5m in funding to support the initiative.

Google’s AI Opportunity Fund is also in support, which the company says is an initiative that helps Americans develop essential AI skills by funding “best-in-class workforce development and educational organisations across critical segments of society”.

Google's support is part of a series of investments the company has announced for small business under the AI Works initiative, designed to help advance AI education.

Google says the courses aim to provide business owners with ideas, best practices and step-by-step guidance on using AI tools to solve challenges and get things done.

Making AI an essential business tool 

AI may seem like a tool for those tech-savvy companies, however the Chamber wants to encourage all business owners to view it as an essential business tool, not one of choosing.

The difference between AI-savvy and AI-untrained is also identified by the most recent Forbes Research Small Business Survey, collating perspectives from over 500 business owners in the first three months of 2025.

According to Forbes, 35% identified upskilling employees to use AI as a top workforce challenge and 27% identified implementing AI as their top technological challenge.

The survey also found that small business owners use AI in these areas:

• Marketing (48%)
• Data analysis (47%)
• Customer service (46%)

Discussing the importance of AI with Forbes, Christopher Turner, Global Head of Knowledge and Information Products in Government Affairs and Public Policy at Google, said: “Your greatest risk is your competitor figuring out how to use this stuff faster than you.”

This is a fear recognised by top tech leaders. In the early days of chatbots in 2022, Sam Altman’s OpenAI made quicker progress to release its chatbot first, according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

Sundar discussed what he really thought of ChatGPT at Salesforce’s annual technology event, Dreamforce, on 17 October, where he said: “We were making a lot of progress, but credit to OpenAI, you know, they put it out first.”

He added that utilising and developing AI is so important because it is “the biggest opportunity in technology” where organisations must “seize the moment and execute well as a company."

How will the initiative help business leaders

The Chamber outlines what the Small Business B(AI)sics initiative includes local in-person training, digital AI learning hubs on its website and nationwide awareness and recruitment campaigns to highlight what’s possible with AI.

Karan Bhatia, Google’s VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy says: “Small businesses are the engine of our communities and economy, and more than half of small business leaders say AI tools are critical to their businesses’ success.

“Through this new collaboration, we’re making sure every Main Street Entrepreneur has access to critical AI tools and training they need to grow.”