Google’s products generate over one trillion TRY in consumer welfare for the Turkish people a year
From Search to Gemini, over the last twenty years Google has introduced successive products to help organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. The majority of these products are offered free of charge, but that does not mean these products are not valuable. One estimate of this is the consumer surplus, which captures increases in consumer welfare beyond and above any GDP impact. In our estimate, Google’s services create a consumer surplus worth ₺2,500 a month (US $75), or ₺30,000 (US $900) a year. This is equivalent to ₺1.6 trillion (US $50 billion) in additional consumer welfare benefits.
most important technological innovations of the last few decades, based on the results of our polling, are Google products (Google Search & YouTube)
Thinking back on the last few decades, which of the following would you say are the most significant technological innovations?
Google Search is an essential help in day to day life
Google Search remains the leading and most trusted platform for people in Türkiye to look for information: from the lyrics to a song, to researching their next big purchase. Every hour, over a million people in Türkiye use Google Search to find a local business – and every year, over eight million young people in Türkiye use it to look for a new job.
of Google Search users say that it is important to their daily life.
of Google Search users say that it is helpful.
of Google Search and Shopping users use it regularly to shop or browse for products online.
Google Maps is helping people save time and money
Google Maps is making it easier for people to navigate in their day to day life: with around three quarters of users say they regularly use it to find the fastest route to their destination (82%), avoid traffic congestion or public transport delays (73%) or find a local business (75%). Across the economy, that adds up to significant savings in both money and time. In total, we estimate that Google Maps saves over 200 million hours a year – the equivalent of 1,000 people working 100 years.
Google Maps saves users an average of 20 minutes per week by identifying the fastest routes to their destinations, equivalent to
(US $580 million) in time savings
Every driver that uses Google Maps saves an average of 290 kilometres per year from more efficient routes, with fuel savings worth approximately
(US $520 million) across the whole economy
In total, we estimate that Google Maps saves over
a year - the equivalent of 1,000 people working 100 years
YouTube is becoming the new TV
From Search to Gemini, over the last twenty years Google has introduced successive products to help organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. The majority of these products are offered free of charge, but that does not mean these products are not valuable. One estimate of this is the consumer surplus, which captures increases in consumer welfare beyond and above any GDP impact.
of people regularly or occasionally watch YouTube videos through their television.
of people have noticed YouTube Creator videos are getting better every year.
Which of the following, if any, do you use YouTube for?
Google’s tools have changed how we learn
Whether you learn best from video, pictures or text, Google’s tools like Search, Gemini or YouTube make it easy to learn new skills. This could be helping you pick up a new instrument in your leisure time, or helping you learn key skills to support the next stage in your career. In our polling, 79% of people in Türkiye say that they would be interested in new skills training to develop their technical skills.
of workers say they have regularly used Google Search to learn a new technical or digital skill for their job.
of people in Türkiye say that they have regularly used Google Search to learn a new skill in their personal life.
of students say that their education would have been more difficult without access to Google Search.
AI tools like Google Gemini are becoming part of daily life
For longer or more involved queries – or to help them out alongside their other internet tools – people in Türkiye are increasingly turning to AI assistants such as Google Gemini. Over the first half of 2025, the number of daily active users of Google Gemini more than doubled.
Early Gemini users are seeing tangible benefits in time saved
In our polling, early users of Google Gemini reported that it was helping them learn new things and save time. Additionally, Gemini can help with productivity when it is used with other digital tools; for example, on average we estimate that early users of Gemini in Google Workspace save the equivalent of 10 work days a year.
of Google Gemini users say that it helped them save time.
of Google Gemini users say that it has helped them learn new things.
Have you used Google Gemini to support any of the following?
Türkiye’s developer ecosystem
Since 2014, 81 active communities have been driving innovation, collaboration, and technical growth. These communities have reached nearly 35,300 developers in 2024 alone, and have engaged with over one million people across the country since their inception.
Türkiye’s developer communities bring together a diverse audience and cover a wide range of topics, including AI, cloud technologies, mobile development, entrepreneurship, and software engineering.
Through workshops, conferences, and hackathons, they not only strengthen individual skills but also contribute directly to Türkiye’s digital transformation vision.
Enes Turan (GDE in Cloud)
- Who he is: Google Developer Expert in Cloud and Platform Engineer at IBM.
- What he does: Helps organisations across the MENA-T region adopt cloud-native technologies and harness AI.
- Community leadership: Organizes Cloud Native Istanbul, and trains developers in Cloud & AI (9,600+ professionals taught).
- Regional impact: Delivered AI workshops in 10 countries.
- Top workshop: Build With AI CodeBrew Gaziantep – 146 participants built & deployed generative AI apps using Gemini API, Vertex AI & Cloud Run.
“Being part of the GDE program has helped me grow not only technically but also personally. I’ve deepened my expertise in cloud and AI while learning how to communicate complex topics to audiences of all kinds. Through programs like Build with AI, I’ve worked side by side with developers to solve real-world problems. I’ve spoken in 10 countries and countless cities, and every Google Developer Group (GDG) event felt like coming home. This community is more than global — it’s a family.”