Google Recaps Route 66 Small Business AI Workshops
Google published a post on its own blog titled "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, Founder of Grow with Google, dated September 8, 2026. Everything below comes from that post.
Transcript
Google posted today about an AI workshop tour along Route sixty six that ended in August.
The tour was called Make AI Work for You. Grow with Google ran it throughout August. Nothing launched today.
It stopped in five states with local chambers of commerce and Small Business Development Centers. Hundreds joined. Google reports no measured results.
Google cites the United States Chamber of Commerce. Sales rose for eighty five percent of small businesses using AI. Teams grew for eighty two percent. Not attendees.
The tour has ended. The free Google AI Professional Certificate continues for United States small businesses. It includes a vibe coding course for building apps without coding knowledge.
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Sources
Every claim in this video comes from the top ranking coverage of this topic. The claims and where each one came from:
- Grow with Google ran an AI training workshop tour for small businesses called "Make AI Work for You" throughout August, along Route 66.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)
- The tour stopped in five states: Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and California, in partnership with local chambers of commerce and Small Business Development Centers.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)
- Google says hundreds of local business owners and community members joined, and reports no attendance total and no measured outcome from the workshops.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)
- The post quotes U.S. Chamber of Commerce data that 85% of the small businesses who use AI saw an increase in sales over the past year and 82% grew their teams. The figures come from a 2025 U.S. Chamber of Commerce report about small businesses that use AI, not from workshop attendees.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)
- The article states that the journey along Route 66 is over, so the tour has ended and nothing new launched with this post.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)
- Google continues to offer the Google AI Professional Certificate training at no cost to U.S. small businesses, and the program includes a vibe coding course for planning, testing, debugging, and launching custom apps with no coding knowledge needed.(Google's official Grow with Google announcement, "Helping small businesses win with AI", by Lisa Gevelber, published September 8, 2026)