You might think you know Google as a search engine or an email provider. But the company’s portfolio is far broader, spanning cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital infrastructure to advertising that powers economies. Here, Michael Yue explains how Google is bringing this technology to the city to fulfill its local commitment to “advancing Hong Kong, together”.

Q. You have said that digital technology is not “nice to have” but a “must have” in today’s world. Can you explain why?

If you look at the last decade, we saw a massive shift to mobile that created a whole new ecosystem of businesses. Now, we are seeing that same pivot with AI. It is the platform technology that will enable every industry.

In my discussions with business leaders, the conversation isn’t just about adopting technology, it is about connecting the business – from human resources to marketing to tech. They are trying to break down silos to make their employees more creative and efficient and ultimately serve their customers better.

We see this in action with enterprises, big and small. For example, we worked with a large financial institution here to help them use AI to query over 200 terabytes of data. In the past, cleaning up that data to find a unique insight might have taken weeks. Now, using our technology, they can find that insight in seconds. This is the beauty of bringing the power of Google Search directly to enterprises – enabling speed and new executive insights.

Q. Google supports HK$73.9 billion in economic benefits and 65,800 jobs in Hong Kong, according to a 2024 report. Can you share how companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), unlock these benefits?

There is a lot of value creation happening. Our tools are not only supporting jobs but creating them. And with AI, we can grow that economic opportunity even further.

I’ll give you an example. We have a small business here selling collectible sneakers. Using Google’s tools, they went from a local shop into a global exporter, selling to over 40 countries. That is the power of the ecosystem – using Google Cloud to scale operations and Google Ads to promote products without ever needing a physical presence in those markets.

Today, generative AI is accelerating this even more. Businesses can now instantly generate professional product imagery and marketing copy to test new markets in seconds. We aren’t just helping SMEs digitize; we are helping them bring their products to every corner of the earth.

Q. You used Google Search to buy your family EV. How did that work?

I’ve been at Google for 14 years now, and I’ve seen the evolution of our products firsthand. It’s not just a couple of blue links anymore. Search has evolved to allow you to search pretty much anything you can see.

I started with a comparison of specs, but the journey quickly became multimodal. For instance, walking down the street, the physical and digital worlds merged when I used Google Lens to identify a car I saw with a quick snap of my phone.

Later, sitting in the dealership, I questioned whether the car would fit inside my parking spot. I asked Google to compare the dimensions of four cars I was looking at, simply by inputting that one single question. AI Overviews pulled the information – like length and width – from various websites so I could compare them instantly. Years ago, I would have had to do individual searches and build my own table.

The ability to handle such a complex query is a game changer. This feature is now used by 2 billion-plus people around the world, bringing generative AI directly to users. We see this even more with the younger generation. Also with Circle to Search: they can press a button to search anything on their screen – text, image, or video – making it even more intuitive and faster for how people search today.

Q. Can you take a look at how Google and YouTube are helping Hong Kong’s creative industry? One example I’ve come across is a collaboration with ChillGOOD TV, Cantopop icon Leo Ku’s YouTube channel. How did that come about?

YouTube has evolved into a platform of daily life for Hong Kongers. Television screens are actually our fastest-growing screen for YouTube; people are watching it increasingly in their living rooms, just as they do on their phones.

Our creators are critical to this ecosystem – they drive the local economy and advocate for brands. Globally, YouTube has paid out over US$100 billion to creators, artists and media companies over the past four years. To continue nurturing this talent, we launched “Foundry Rising”, a global initiative to help artists in their early-stage careers.

In Hong Kong, partnering with ChillGOOD TV was a natural fit. Leo Ku is a Cantopop legend passionate about nurturing the next generation, and we share that vision.

Through this program, we are providing mentorship and tools to help emerging artists go global. We want to help Hong Kong creators shine locally and on the world stage.

Q. We recently saw WeLab’s subsidiary, WeLend, launch a fully AI-generated commercial using Google’s Veo model. How is WeLab leveraging Google’s wider ecosystem?

The commercial was a great showcase of modernizing marketing using Veo and Google AI models, but the bigger story is our AI-first strategic collaboration. WeLab is leveraging our full AI stack – from Cloud infrastructure to advanced AI agents – to accelerate every facet of its business and reach 500 million users by 2032.

This goes beyond creative work. WeLab is deploying AI agents to make high-quality financial research more accessible, offering institutional-level insights to everyday customers. Critically, they are using our global infrastructure to rapidly scale with security and compliance across Asia. It serves as a blueprint for how fintechs can gain a vital edge in innovation.

Q. As one of seven tech companies and six telecommunications firms that committed to Hong Kong’s Anti-scam Consumer Protection Charter 3.0 last July, can you talk about what Google has done to mitigate fraud, which continues at an alarming pace?

The Charter was a meaningful collaboration as it brought the tech and telecom industries together with regulators to present a united front. Scams are sophisticated and cross-border, so our defense must be too.

We are combining global initiatives – like the Global Signal Exchange, which shares intelligence on bad actors – with our own multi-layered defenses. If you look at our advertising ecosystem, we have robust verification to identify bad actors at the source, alongside AI-powered protections that adapt to new threats.

Since implementing these new measures, we’ve seen a 90% decrease in user reports of AI-generated public figure impersonation ads in the last year. We also removed over 5 billion ads and suspended nearly 40 million advertiser accounts globally for violations.

Locally, I’m particularly proud of our Google Play Protect’s enhanced fraud protection pilot for Hong Kong. In less than three months since fully launching, we shielded over 180,000 Android devices from 640,000 risky installation attempts. Our infrastructure is secure by design, and we are working nonstop to ensure a safe environment for everyone.

Q. Can you share some of Google’s initiatives with Hong Kong’s tech incubation hubs, as well as startups?

Hong Kong is an incredible innovation hub, and we are backing it. We have “Google for Startups” programs across industries where businesses can apply for Google Cloud credits. This allows them to use the best of our AI technologies to find the right product-market fit without heavy upfront costs. To date, we have provided over HK$78 million (US$10 million) for these startups.

Our Rocketing AI Co-incubation Program with HKSTP is unique. We don’t just provide credits; we provide mentoring, workshops, and engineering support. It’s a powerful combination of an ecosystem builder and a tech enabler. We are also thrilled to have InvestHK joining our newest cohort to help these startups scale even further.

We are seeing similar innovation in universities. Researchers are leveraging our tools, including AlphaFold—the model developed by the team at Google DeepMind, including Demis Hassabis and John Jumper who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for solving protein folding in 2024. AlphaFold is an open-source tool helping researchers here accelerate medical and drug discovery, and Hong Kong stands as one of the leading contributors to AlphaFold adoption in the APAC region, ranking among the top four markets with over 85,000 users.

Whether it is upskilling students with Google Career Certificates or empowering deep-tech research, we are committed to fueling Hong Kong’s innovation engine.

Q. Can you tell us a bit more about your journey at Google? 

I’ve been with Google for 14 years, and the common thread has always been a curiosity for how technology solves problems – from my early days launching Google Pay in the region to seeing how AI is transforming Hong Kong businesses today.

The beautiful thing about technology is that you’re always learning. There’s always something new. That natural curiosity drives me, especially now as we navigate the AI transition. It is a real passion point for me, and it is central to our mission, to advance Hong Kong together.

Q. What do you do outside work in Hong Kong?

I always come back to my family. We have very busy jobs, so I want to prioritize spending time with my wife and my two boys. My boys have become baseball fanatics – cheering on the Toronto Blue Jays – and one of the things I enjoy doing with them is just playing catch after work when I have time.

These are the small moments that are important in life, combined with what I do at work to make an impact here in Hong Kong. It represents a blend of the two that we continue to work through. We also have our extended family here, so it feels connected. I really enjoy it here, and I hope to continue serving our mission to advance Hong Kong together. I try to live and breathe this every day with our teams on the ground.

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