According to Public First, through steady iteration, the digital platform’s core products have continued to evolve and improve, saving time and money for people, while keeping them safe. By providing more affordable and open options, there is a greater range of choices and increases in digital inclusion.

The company’s technology has also had a significant impact on society, by supporting people, businesses and cities as they improve their sustainability, increasing accessibility by making technology available to everyone and supporting healthier living and fitness.

The Portuguese general public has named the following products among the ten most helpful innovations of the last thirty years, Google Search, Google Maps, Android and YouTube.

The results of Google Search are considered to be trustworthy by 74 percent of consumers, relevant to 86 percent and 96 percent find the platform to be helpful. Google’s tools are believed to help navigate the web in a safe way by 70 percent of consumers.

Every month, 76 percent of Google Maps users utilise the service to find a local business. By assisting people to find more cost-effective options, Google Search and Maps help the average person in Portugal save €93 a year.

Adults who believe that Google Search saves them time stood 92 percent, dropping to 80 percent of adults who agree Google Assistant saves them time. In total, it is estimated they save 1.3 million hours of leisure tine a year in Portugal.

Those who said Google’s products – e.g. through eco-routing, or eco-certified labels for hotels – make it easier for them to make more informed and sustainable choices, amounted 82 percent.

Artificial Intelligence

New and developing digital technologies such as AI, AR and the cloud have the potential to unlock the power of the world’s information even further, helping tackle some of the largest economic and societal challenges. Google technologies are likely to remain at the center of these innovations.

Businesses who back the idea of integrating generative AI services such as Bard into Google Search represented 58 percent, believing it would make day-today tasks easier, and 51 percent are for the platform Google Workspace.

AI tools are widely supported to help solve societal challenges, as maintained by 66 percent of people who agree with AI being used to help them make more environmentally sustainable choices in their lives. Those who support the use of tools to help process government and consumer service requests faster stood at 72 percent and 58 percent of people say they concur with the software being used to eliminate mindless tasks at work.

The use of AI tools for the purpose of unlocking advancements in drug discovery and development is supported by 79 percent of people, and 73 percent believe in the use of the platform to monitor agricultural health to ensure food supply availability.

Those who say they acknowledge the use of AI to help people/governments reduce the risks due to extreme weather events, e.g. wildfires, flooding, heatwaves, among others, represented 83 percent of respondents.

People who agree with the use of the software to monitor and manage water use and quality stood at 79 percent and 80 percent say they support the use of AI to reduce carbon emissions by managing energy use.

Generative AI could increase the size of GVA in Portugal by €15 billion or the equivalent of 8 percent of GVA, and it could save the average worker over 80 hours a year.

By developing AI across businesses to help with pre-emptive risk monitoring and upskilling workers in cybersecurity, Portugal could mitigate €690 million worth of cybersecurity risks.

Workers in Portugal who think that generative AI will help them be more productive represent 86 percent of respondents, which rises to 91 percent of office workers and 43 percent of businesses agree that AI is likely to significantly improve the productivity of their workforce in the next few years.

Businesses

Google’s products are helping drive the competitiveness of Portuguese companies, which enables businesses of all sizes to compete and reach consumers across the world, providing new platforms for independent creators to earn a living through the innovations, in some of Portugal’s most dynamic firms.

Google Search and Ads have benefitted €400 million in exports for Portugal’s economy in the last year, 70 percent of small and medium-sized businesses stated Google’s tools are instrumental for their online success.

Google contributed to the employment of over 86,000 local jobs last year at third-party businesses.

Businesses who consider paid search advertising as one of the most important ways to reach new customers stood at 53 percent.

Shopping or Search users who say they regularly use Google Shopping to compare the prices of products and services represented 70 percent of respondents, with 95 percent of those saying they find it helpful.

One of Google’s free-of-charge channels (e.g. Reviews, Shopping, Google Business Profiles, organic search, Maps) is considered to be one of the most effective ways to connect with customers in accordance with 53 percent of businesses, and 61 percent of small businesses say that the costs of starting a company have reduced substantially or dramatically due to internet tools such as Google Workspace or Google Business Profile.

In today’s dynamic and fast-paced world, Google stands as a steadfast ally for ordinary workers, empowering them to achieve greater productivity and efficiency in their daily tasks.

Based on the time saved for the average worker by Google Search and Google Workspace, it is estimated that in a given year Google services are producing a €11.6 billion improvement in worker productivity for the economy of Portugal.

By creating a widely used open-source platform, Android has saved developers in Portugal approximately over 220,000 development days, which is equivalent to €24 million in reduced development costs.

Google Search boosted the economy in Portugal by €2.3 billion, 79 percent of users utilise the platform to learn a new skill and continue their lifelong learning, and 40 percent to look for a new job in the last year.