Optimalisasi Pemasaran Digital UMKM Pedesaan melalui Penguatan Kompetensi AI Generatif bagi Pemuda: Sebuah Pendekatan Participatory Action Research

Abstract

This community service program was carried out to improve generative artificial intelligence literacy and digital marketing skills among the youth of Talawaan Atas Village so that they are able to produce their own promotional materials for local micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The program was urgently needed because village youth already access social media every day but have not been able to turn that habit into something of economic value, while local MSMEs still rely on word-of-mouth selling and own no promotional material worth posting on social media. The expected benefit is the availability of local human resources capable of creating promotional content without paying for design services. The method used was participatory action research, arranged as lectures, demonstrations, group practice, and mentoring, with pre-test and post-test instruments for evaluation. The activity took place on 15 May 2026 in Talawaan Atas Village, Talawaan District, North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi. Twenty-five participants took part, consisting of junior and senior high school students living around the village, members of the village youth organisation (karang taruna), and local food MSME owners, facilitated by a team of lecturers and students from the organising institution. The evaluation shows that the average participant score rose from 29.7% to 81.4%, an increase of 51.7 points. In practical terms, the partners obtained ready-to-use Instagram content designs, a digital menu, and an interactive web page for the MSME Goroho Snack House. In theoretical terms, the finding strengthens the argument that AI literacy can be built through short, practice-based training in communities with no technical background, and it adds generative AI as a new instrument in the study of rural digital economic empowerment.