French mid-sized firms adopt AI but see few gains, survey shows

Generative AI use is spreading quickly among French mid-sized companies, but most have yet to report clear productivity benefits, according to a survey by state-backed investment bank Bpifrance.

Bpifrance said in its annual barometer of Entreprises de Taille Intermediaire, ‌or ⁠ETIs, that ⁠77% of 534 company heads surveyed said their firms use ​generative artificial intelligence, while only 17% of those using it ​reported time savings from the technology.

The findings suggest adoption is moving faster than measurable returns, as many companies still struggle to turn new ⁠tools into ‌practical efficiency gains.


Firms using generative ​AI ​more intensively were more likely to report ⁠benefits, with 23% of regular users seeing ​productivity gains compared with 12% of occasional ​users

Some 78% of firms said they expected generative AI to have a positive impact on productivity over time, up 11 points from a year earlier

Use of generative AI was more common ‌among services firms and industrial or construction companies than in commerce, transport and tourism

​Demand remained ​the main ⁠brake on growth, with 55% of firms saying current or expected demand weakness was weighing on activity

The 2026 ​cash-position outlook balance fell 2 points to -12, with industrial and construction firms particularly downbeat

The revenue outlook balance rose 8 points to +18, but remained well below its 2011-2025 average of +29