According to the report, generative AI (capable of generating text, images and video) “could increase the size of the Portuguese economy by 15,000 million euros (or the equivalent of 8% of Gross Value Added or 6% of Gross Domestic Product) and save, on average, more than 80 hours per year for each worker — the equivalent of two weeks of work”.

Furthermore, “by helping everyone in Portugal focus on more productive and creative tasks, AI can accelerate economic growth and, in turn, bring progress regarding social challenges”.

The Public First study “shows that 86% of workers in Portugal think that generative AI tools will help them to be more productive, with this figure rising to 91% for office workers”.

The implementation of AI in companies “to help preventively monitor risks and improve workers’ cybersecurity skills, in Portugal could mitigate 690 million euros of cybersecurity risks”, concludes the study.

Regarding Google search and ads, the report points out that these tools “supported exports to the Portuguese economy by 400 million euros last year”, and it is also estimated that the technology’s services “are producing an improvement in 11,600 million euros in worker productivity”.

In total, the study points out, “Google contributed to the creation of more than 86,000 local jobs last year in outsourced companies”.

According to the report, in Portugal “83% of people say they support the use of AI tools to help people/governments reduce the risks they face due to extreme weather phenomena, e.g. forest fires, floods, heat waves ”, among others, with 80% defending this tool to reduce carbon emissions through managing energy use.

More than half (58%) support the use of AI to eliminate monotonous tasks at work and two-thirds to help them make more environmentally sustainable choices.

“Since 2016, we have trained more than 135,000 people in Portugal in digital skills through the Digital Atelier and worked with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to provide two million euros in credits for AI research”, says Google, which adds that it distributed “6,000 professional certificates, in collaboration with APDC, in courses such as UX, IT Support, project management, and others”.