Nigeria has the sixth highest search interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa and 25th in the world, a new report by Google reveals.
The report titled: 'New search trends' released by Google on Wednesday, showed that people in Nigeria continue to search for AI more than ever before, as AI was searched more than ever in 2024 in Nigeria and around the world, with Nigerian users searching for the term 130 per cent more than this time last year.
Search trends in Nigeria related to AI continue - with searches for "what is AI" increasing more than 30 per cent while searches for "how to use AI" have increased 40 per cent, the report averred
"Nigerians are looking to use AI to build their careers and creativity - with trending searches including "create a logo with AI", "create CV with AI", "design website with AI", "design a flyer with AI" and "create slides with AI" - all of which were 'breakout' searches in 2024, growing over 5,000 per cent in interest since this time last year.
"Nigerians are also interested in learning more about AI and how best to use it. Searches for "AI and courses" have increased by 50 per cent - while top questions include "is AI hard to learn", "how to learn AI" and "how to access and learn about AI". Search interest in AI and business more than doubled (+110 per cent), while searches for AI and jobs more than septupled (+640 per cent)," it disclosed.
Search interest in cybersecurity and AI also nearly doubled across Nigeria (+80 per cent), while people showed a clear interest in the future of AI for science, the report stated, adding that, "Searches for AI and healthcare more than doubled (+140 per cent), while searches for AI and medicine increased by 50 per cent and searches for AI and STEM and AI and hospitals both increased by 60 per cent."
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Reacting to the findings of the report, West Africa director at Google, Olumide Balogun, 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 Nigeria are already looking to make the most of this transformational technology - finding ways for it to boost their career, creativity, and society."
Aligned with its commitment to AI as a force for positive societal change, Balogun said Google offers free AI training programs to Africans through its Hustle Academy, adding that this initiative, designed for entrepreneurs, includes modules specifically tailored to teach participants how to leverage AI to improve their businesses.
Since its launch in 2022, Hustle Academy has empowered over 10,000 businesses. Additionally, Google supports promising AI-focused startups in Africa through its Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program. This program, which assists startups tackling African challenges, selected 10 AI-driven ventures for its 2024 cohort.
