--- title: "AI in business: widespread adoption in France, but productivity gains stall — Marsanne Studio AI watch" description: "According to the Banque de France, two thirds of French companies use generative AI, but only one third see productivity gains from it." url: "https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch/ai-in-business-widespread-adoption-in-france-but-productivity-gains-ac2223/" lang: "en" --- [Marsanne Studio](https://marsanne.studio/en/) [← Back to home](https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch) [← The AI watch](https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch) Data study · 4 September 2026 # AI in business: widespread adoption in France, but productivity gains stall Original title, in French: “IA en entreprise : une adoption massive en France, mais des gains de productivité qui stagnent” **Publication** ZDNet France (France) **Author** Unsigned **Published on** 4 September 2026 · read in the page structured data ## Summary A Banque de France survey shows that in early 2026, more than two thirds of French companies with over 20 employees say they use generative AI, thanks to standardised tools such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. Non-generative AI, which is more complex to integrate, remains less widespread: 30% of SMEs with fewer than 50 employees use it, compared with 60% of large organisations. Only one company in three sees a positive impact on its productivity, and half of the companies that have not adopted AI cite the lack of identified use cases. The article links this finding to Daron Acemoglu's work on GDP growth, and to a note from the Direction générale du Trésor stating that 78% of US companies already use an advanced digital technology, with a gap of 20 points for France. Summary based on the full text of the article. [Read the article on ZDNet France →](https://www.zdnet.fr/actualites/ia-en-entreprise-une-adoption-massive-en-france-mais-des-gains-de-productivite-qui-stagnent-502829.htm) ## Figures cited - — % share of French companies with over 20 employees using generative AI French companies with over 20 employees, early 2026 > « plus des deux tiers des entreprises françaises de plus de 20 salariés déclarent utiliser des outils d'intelligence artificielle générative » Source: Banque de France - 30 % share of SMEs with fewer than 50 employees using non-generative AI French SMEs with fewer than 50 employees > « Seules 30 % des PME de moins de 50 salariés y ont recours, contre 60 % pour les grandes structures, selon les données publiées par la Banque de France, et relevé par l'AFP. » Source: Banque de France - 60 % share of large organisations using non-generative AI large French organisations > « Seules 30 % des PME de moins de 50 salariés y ont recours, contre 60 % pour les grandes structures, selon les données publiées par la Banque de France, et relevé par l'AFP. » Source: Banque de France - 33 % share of French companies seeing a positive impact of AI on their productivity French companies > « Seule une entreprise française sur trois constate aujourd'hui un impact positif sur sa productivité. » Source: Banque de France - 50 % share of companies that have not adopted AI due to lack of an identified business use case French companies that have not adopted AI > « la moitié des entreprises n'ayant pas franchi le pas affirment ne pas avoir identifié de tâches pertinentes à automatiser ou optimiser » Source: Banque de France - 1 % estimated impact of AI on GDP growth over ten years without restructuring of organisations over ten years, 2024 estimate > « l'économiste Daron Acemoglu, qui estimait dès 2024 que l'impact de l'IA sur la croissance du PIB ne dépasserait pas 1 % sur dix ans en l'absence de restructuration profonde des organisations » Source: Daron Acemoglu - 78 % share of US companies using at least one advanced digital technology US companies, 2025 > « En 2025, 78 % des entreprises américaines exploitaient déjà au moins une technologie numérique avancée, soit un écart de près de 20 points avec l'écosystème français. » Source: Direction générale du Trésor - 20 points gap in points between US and French companies using an advanced digital technology France / United States, 2025 > « soit un écart de près de 20 points avec l'écosystème français » Source: Direction générale du Trésor ## Classification **Country** France, United States **Company size** SMEs, Large companies, All sizes **Industries** All industries, or industry not specified **Companies** Direction générale du Trésor (study author), Microsoft (supplier), Banque de France (study author), OpenAI (supplier) **Keywords** ai adoption, productivity gains, generative ai, smes, banque de france, competitiveness Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to ZDNet France. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.