2026-09-08 GETSTARTED☀ AM

Google Drives AI Down Route 66. Main Street Shows Up. The Curriculum Is Free, Obviously.

📰 THE BRIEF

Grow with Google toured Route 66 hosting hands-on workshops that taught small business owners to use AI for saving time and increasing sales. Most businesses using AI reported higher sales and team growth. The free online training at Grow.Google/SMB remains available, including a new no-code course on building custom apps.

💡 WHY IT MATTERS

This illustrates the principle of capability diffusion. The mechanism is democratization through free access. When a dominant platform removes cost and friction barriers, adoption accelerates among populations that would never self-educate. The lesson: wait for a major provider to subsidize training before paying anyone for AI literacy.

👥 WHO'S DOING IT

Grow with Google, the tech giant's small business education arm. Their Route 66 workshop tour targeted Main Street entrepreneurs directly, and they report that most businesses using AI see higher sales and growth.

⚡ TRY IT

Go to Grow.Google/SMB in your browser. You will see free training modules listed there.
Locate the no-code custom app course and click to begin. Expect a guided walkthrough that does not require programming knowledge.
Complete one module and attempt the suggested exercise for your own business. You should finish with a basic AI-assisted artifact, such as a draft app or automated workflow, in under 15 minutes.

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