Expanding Access to Opportunity in the Next Era of the Internet

GoDaddy's 2025 Global Stakeholder Impact Report outlines how AI-powered tools and open infrastructure can scale participation in the digital economy

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / April 24, 2026 / Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

By Jared Sine, Chief Legal and Strategy Officer, GoDaddy

Every year as we prepare GoDaddy's Global Stakeholder Impact Report, we ask a simple question:

Are we achieving our purpose to make opportunity more inclusive for all?

This year's report highlights a key point: inclusion isn't just an afterthought for GoDaddy, which exists to help small businesses and entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures; it plays an integral part in how we put our purpose into action. It's woven into the systems we create, the products we deliver and how we engage with our customers.

Not all entrepreneurs resemble the conventional founder

Consider inclusive entrepreneurship.

It's easy to say anyone can start a business; it's harder to build the infrastructure that makes it true.

Surveying more than 40,000 small business owners through GoDaddy's Small Business Research Lab, we see microbusinesses rising as a powerful force in the global economy, and many founders depend on their ventures for meaningful income and household stability.

That's why community impact programs like GoDaddy Empower help more people get the tools and training to succeed, expanding opportunity across the digital economy.

Through GoDaddy Empower, we provide access to domains, websites, education and funding when it matters most. For some founders, that support enables a first step. For others, it's the difference between an idea staying on paper and becoming a sustainable livelihood.

In 2025, we invested more than $2.7 million through GoDaddy Empower to support emerging entrepreneurs and innovators. Our ambition is simple: expand access to opportunity so more people can shape their own pathways to success.

Technology should remove friction, not create it

A key theme in this year's report is our perspective on technology, particularly artificial intelligence. There are legitimate risks and growing public concern that emerging technologies could introduce new forms of friction, including bias, misuse and the potential to exacerbate societal divides.

At GoDaddy, our focus is on using technology to do the opposite, removing barriers, broadening access and leveling the playing field so more entrepreneurs can participate and succeed.

GoDaddy's AI-powered tools allow entrepreneurs to go from idea to an online presence in minutes, building websites and software tools, generating content and launching businesses without any technical expertise.

Additionally, we are actively investing in open standards like Agent Name Service (ANS) to help ensure the future of the internet remains an open and accessible hub of innovation, rather than controlled by a select few. Open standards for agent identity and discovery help ensure that AI agents can work across borders, platforms and legal regimes, offering reliable performance and auditability.

Achieving inclusion at scale requires more than just innovative tools; it necessitates systems rooted in openness and trust.

Inclusion starts from within organizations

To develop products that meet the needs of a global customer base, it is essential that teams reflect the world and communities they serve. For this reason, GoDaddy continues to publicly share its workforce demographic and pay data. In 2025, we once again achieved global gender pay parity (equal pay within a few cents on either side of the dollar), as well as race and ethnicity pay parity within the United States.

This transparency is fundamental to building trust among our stakeholders, both internally and externally. When individuals have confidence in the systems they work within, they are more likely to succeed individually, contribute thoughtfully and innovate uniquely.

Ultimately, this leads to enhanced customer experiences and improved outcomes.

Sustainability is a proven business development strategy

The term "sustainability" often brings environmental efforts to mind. Those matter, and we're making progress there, including maintaining approximately 88% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions from our 2019 baseline.

But sustainability, in practice, is broader: it is shaped by responsible governance, strengthened through data protection, advanced by trustworthy AI, grounded in employee support and realized through long-term economic participation. These elements drive customer trust, enable innovation and support durable growth. It's why our approach is built on four pillars - Customers & Communities, People & Culture, Responsible Governance & Operations, and Environmental Impact - linked by technology to create long-term value.

Inclusive opportunity enables trust in technology

The internet has always been a platform for possibilities. The next phase, shaped by AI, automation and new forms of digital identity, will either maintain open access or concentrate it.

Our responsibility is to help ensure access remains open for all.

That's what this year's Global Stakeholder Impact Report is about. Not just what we've done, but how we're building for what comes next.

We invite you to explore the 2025 report for yourself. Download HERE.

Find more stories and multimedia from GoDaddy at 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: GoDaddy

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/godaddy

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: GoDaddy