Google trends reveal South Africans keen to grow AI skills

With artificial intelligence (AI) the buzzword of the moment and making waves, Google said search interest in “AI” has reached a record high around the world and in South Africa, where searches have more than doubled (+120%) since the same period last year.

The results come months after tech giant Google’s global survey, “Our Life with AI”, which showed that 88% of South Africans were interested in learning more about AI.

AI excitement

The survey also showed that 60% of South Africans were excited about AI, with 76% agreeing that “society as a whole” is likely to benefit from AI.

Google said searches in South Africa for “what is AI” also increased by 20%, while searches for “how to use AI” increased by 70%.

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Building careers with AI

South Africans are looking to use AI to build their careers and creativity – with trending searches including “AI image generator”, “AI writer”, “online AI chat” and “logo maker AI” – all of which were ‘breakout’ searches in 2024, growing over 5,000% in interest since this time last year.

The Google research also showed that South Africans are keen to grow their AI skills and qualifications. Searches for “AI jobs” and “AI course” both nearly doubled (+80% each). Searches for “AI and business” doubled (+100%) while searches for “AI and startups” increased by 30%.

Google said search interest in cybersecurity and AI also doubled across South Africa (+100%), while people showed a clear interest in the future of AI for science.

Searches for AI and doctors doubled (+110%), while searches for AI and medicine increased by 50%, searches for AI and hospitals increased by 60% and searches for AI and healthcare increased by 20%.

AI creates opportunities  

Paul Mayanja, Acting Google SA Country Director said AI has the potential to create opportunities – from the extraordinary to the everyday – for everyone: bringing new waves of innovation, social and economic progress.

“So it’s no surprise that the people of South Africa are already looking to make the most of this transformational technology – finding ways to learn more AI skills to boost their career, creativity, and society.”

AI training

Aligned with its commitment to AI as a force for positive societal change, Google offers free AI training programs to Africans through its Hustle Academy.

This initiative, designed for entrepreneurs, includes modules specifically tailored to teach participants how to leverage AI to improve their businesses,

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