Google Australia has revealed how it is helping Australian businesses and citizens during this COVID-19 outbreak.
As a search engine business at its core, Google’s first priority is promoting authoritative and reliable information.
“It’s crucial that people have access to health information they can trust online, so they can make the right decisions to protect themselves and those around them from COVID-19,” Google Australia said in a blogpost.
“We’ve surfaced the latest updates and health advice from government and health authorities, promoted awareness campaigns, shared travel advisories, and provided regular updates on the Search trends we are seeing as Australians look for help and information.”
The tech giant is also providing the Australian Government with ads credits to help communicate information with the public.
Another focus for Google Australia at this time is supporting the education and learning of the millions of students who now find themselves at home.
“To help teachers get the support they need to teach remotely, we’ve made tools like Hangouts Meet and Google Classroom available for free, provided training and tips through both Google and YouTube (and YouTube creators are getting on board too — check out the latest tips from Eddie Woo), and launched Teach from Home with UNESCO as a central hub for teachers around the world,” continued Google Australia.
“We’ve also built a remote work hub on the Grow with Google Australia site to help people work, teach and learn from anywhere, along with a distance learning website that includes training materials and a new YouTube Learning Hub to help schools, teachers, parents and students. And we launched a local #StayHome #WithMe campaign on YouTube to help people feel more connected, entertained and informed during social distancing.”
The final strategic priority for Google’s response to COVID-19 is to help ensure business continuity and economic recovery.
“We will be expanding our programs to train local small businesses in digital skills, provide them with cloud-based tools, and enable their employees to work remotely. We have launched a website to help Aussie businesses navigate through the uncertainty of COVID-19 and are working with business organisations such as the Business Council of Australia, ACCI and COSBOA to share resources that may be of assistance,” Google Australia said.
“We have made the premium version of our video conferencing software Meet free to all of our Australian and global G Suite customers until September 2020, to allow large meetings, livestreams and meeting recordings.”
It comes after Google announced a $800 million commitment to support small businesses, health organisations and governments with access to finance, ad credits and grants to help meet the costs of the virus.
