Artificial intelligence (AI) is already reshaping America's economy, and for the first time, GoDaddy reveals how small businesses—not only tech giants—are leading the charge with measurable job creation and local growth.

In 2024, AI dominated headlines with bold predictions about its transformative potential for big business in the future. Yet, GoDaddy, in partnership with UCLA Anderson Forecast, is flipping the script, delivering a first-of-its-kind analysis quantifying the present-day economic outcomes AI has driven for small businesses—and what it means for 2025.  

GoDaddy Airo™ is Driving Economic Growth Through Small Businesses

GoDaddy's research highlights how AI can be a powerful force for job creation and economic growth, especially when embraced by small businesses. Since the 2023 introduction of GoDaddy Airo, the company's AI powered experience, there has been a surge in microbusiness activity*, which in turn has created economic benefits across the United States. According to the research, the rollout of Airo is correlated with increases in job creation and reductions in unemployment at the local level.

Additionally, GoDaddy Airo has demonstrated significant impacts on sales and traffic for small businesses, enabling them to generate up to 43% more sales with GoDaddy Airo and an Online Store¹ and to attract up to 21% more traffic by adding a logo through GoDaddy Airo².

 This Combination is Creating Local Jobs and Economic Impact

• Job Creation: For every website published using GoDaddy Airo, 20 jobs were created per county, with rural counties seeing an average of 4.2 jobs and urban counties experiencing a boost of 22 jobs.

• Economic Impact: 10 new GoDaddy published websites per county were associated with a 0.017 percentage-point reduction in unemployment rates.

• Record Engagement: Microbusiness website activity surged to an all-time high in 2024, as measured by GoDaddy's engagement index, which grew by 13% from January to September, surpassing pre-pandemic records..

AI Delivered Small Business Growth and Lowered Barriers to Entry in 2024

While much of the mainstream AI narrative in 2024 focused on possibilities, GoDaddy's research shows actual outcomes and insight into entrepreneurial mindsets.

• Productivity and Revenue Growth: Among small business owners using AI tools like GoDaddy Airo, 72% reported increased productivity, and 61% reported higher revenues in the last six months alone.

• Lowered Barriers to Entry: The number of websites published surged since the release of AI tools like Airo. Despite these successes, 38% of microbusiness owners cited a lack of knowledge about AI signalling an opportunity for education in 2025.

2025 Will Be the Year of Impact

With a growing body of evidence, it's clear that small businesses—often secondary in AI discussions—are at the forefront of driving measurable change.

The data underscores how AI tools like GoDaddy Airo are not just driving small business online engagement but also making tangible contributions to job markets and local economies. With digital small businesses already creating seven jobs per entrepreneur on average¹, this additional boost from AI presents an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen local and national economies.

"Economic outcomes don't often materialize overnight, yet, in just under a year, GoDaddy's research shows how small businesses using AI tools are transforming local economies through job creation," said Alexandra Rosen, economist and global head of GoDaddy's Venture Forward research initiative. "GoDaddy Airo specifically is empowering small business owners to launch their businesses faster, create jobs, and grow local economies."

To learn more about The Impact of AI on Microbusinesses and how AI is shaping the future of small businesses, read the full report here: https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GoDaddyUCLA-Anderson_The-Impact-of-AI-on-Microbusinesses_20250211.pdf