The Agenda — SME — 2026-10
One French SME in two uses AI, one in three pays for it
France Num barometer 2026, 9,655 firms: 53% of SMEs use AI, 32% pay for a solution, and the money goes to subscriptions.
6394 articles read · 4091 from a credible source · 239 cleared the editorial judge · 11 kept.
The France Num barometer, run by Crédoc among 9,655 firms including 2,869 SMEs, finds that 53% of SMEs say they use at least one AI solution and 32% pay for one. Across very small and small-to-medium firms, 17% spend on subscriptions, 5% on training and 3% on bespoke development.
The through-line
The items kept from 30 August to 30 September describe firms of your size that use AI without yet getting value from it. In France, 53% of SMEs say they use it and the money goes to subscriptions. In the UK and Ireland, 10% of firms with 50 to 500 employees have integrated it everywhere; in Germany, 1% of users with 100 to 499 employees say they exploit its potential, and KfW finds a link with growth only among firms that were already growing. On obligations, the rewritten Article 4 of the AI Act asks every employer for training measures, with no level to guarantee.
Executive
France Num · Direction générale des Entreprises · Tier A
The fact. The France Num barometer, run by Crédoc among 9,655 firms including 2,869 SMEs, finds that 53% of SMEs say they use at least one AI solution and 32% pay for one. Across very small and small-to-medium firms, AI spending goes to subscriptions (17%), far ahead of training (5%) and bespoke development (3%).
What it changes for you. At your size, using AI no longer sets you apart: one SME in two does. The money goes into subscriptions to general-purpose tools; very few firms have paid for work on their own activities.
The question to ask on Monday. "What did we pay for AI this year, and how much of it went into changing one of our ways of working?"
Worth quoting. « Sur l'ensemble des TPE PME, 19 % recourent à des solutions payantes. Un chiffre qui monte à 32 % pour les PME. »
Self-reported answers, collected mostly online from 23 March to 18 April 2026; very small firms make up 70% of the sample. Spending is not broken down for SMEs alone.
BGF · Tier B
The fact. BGF and Beauhurst surveyed 285 leaders of businesses with 50 to 500 employees in the UK and Ireland. 75% see AI as important to long-term growth, 10% have integrated it across the organisation, and 6% say they measure its return with confidence.
What it changes for you. If you run a business of that size and AI is not in service everywhere, you are in the position of nine leaders in ten in the panel. What holds them back is internal: 40% cite a skills gap and nearly four in ten change management.
The question to ask on Monday. "For which of our AI uses can we say, with figures, what it returned?"
Worth quoting. "We found that 83% of SME leaders believe an external advisor would be beneficial – fewer than 1% have one."
Censuswide survey for BGF and Beauhurst, 25 March to 24 April 2026, panel sample, self-reported answers. BGF is an investor that itself offers this support. Figures checked against the report.
JDN : Derniers contenus · Tier B
The fact. The French State has published the list of AI ambassadors of its “Osez l'IA” plan. By the author's count on that file, 610 rows on 2 September 2026, 16 départements have none, 103 ambassadors are in Paris, and 152 have a sector speciality, including 27 for industry and 2 for accounting.
What it changes for you. If you were counting on this network for a first opinion, check that it has an ambassador in your département and in your trade. Bpifrance's Data AI Diagnostic, eight days with 40% covered, remains little used: 70 have been started out of the 1,000 announced by the government on 3 September.
The question to ask on Monday. "Who, in our trade and near us, has already put AI into service and would show us what they did with it?"
Worth quoting. « Un dirigeant de TPE ne va pas spontanément voir une agence régionale du numérique. Il pose ses questions à son expert-comptable, souvent le seul conseil extérieur qu'il paie toute l'année. »
The author is himself an AI ambassador. The count is his; the open file on data.economie.gouv.fr and its 610 rows are confirmed.
Tech & Data
Bitkom · Tier B
The fact. According to Bitkom's annual survey, run by phone among 603 German firms with 20 or more employees, 57% use AI, against 36% a year earlier. Among users with 100 to 499 employees, 1% say they exploit its potential and 84% say they do not.
What it changes for you. In firms of your size, adopting AI has become common and getting value from it remains rare. The users surveyed locate the spending in data preparation and integration with existing software, far ahead of model consumption.
The question to ask on Monday. "In our AI budget, how much goes to data and integration, and how much to the model?"
Worth quoting. « Teuer sind Infrastruktur und Daten, nicht das KI-Modell »
Bitkom is the German digital industry federation. Representative survey run from July to August 2026; the size sub-samples are small and their numbers are not published.
Legal, compliance & risk
JDN : Derniers contenus · Tier B
The fact. In a survey run by Cesin among its members in the first half of 2026, regulatory compliance is among the top three priorities for 72% of very small and small-to-medium firms, 61% of mid-sized firms and 46% of large companies. 27% of respondents, mostly mid-sized firms, have defined no usage policy for generative AI.
What it changes for you. A large group adds an obligation to an organisation that already exists; a small firm has to create it. The author proposes three steps that need no budget: an inventory of uses, a one-page usage note, dated and circulated, and a record of decisions taken with a tool's help.
The question to ask on Monday. "In which decisions of our company does AI take part, and do we have a dated, circulated usage note?"
Worth quoting. « Une page datée est une mesure prise au sens de l'article 4. »
Panel of Cesin members, 84 to 160 respondents depending on the question; it does not represent the French economy. Column by a software vendor (SiyadAI).
Finance
KfW Research · Tier A
The fact. KfW Research compared, in its panel of German Mittelstand firms, those that used AI between 2022 and 2024 with comparable firms that did not. In 2024 the former show revenue growth 1.1 points higher and a return on sales of 4.5% against 3.6%; the link with growth is statistically established only for firms that were already growing.
What it changes for you. The gap exists, and it sits with the firms that were already doing well. If yours is flat, the study gives you no reason to expect AI to reverse the trend, and KfW says it does not know which way the cause runs.
The question to ask on Monday. "Which of our activities is already growing, and is that where we put AI?"
Worth quoting. « Dies bedeutet somit, dass ein im statistischen Sinne abgesicherter positiver Zusammenhang – von einzelnen Ausnahmen abgesehen – nur für Unternehmen ermittelbar ist, die ohnehin bereits wachsen. »
Data collected in spring 2025; AI use is a self-reported yes or no. No breakdown by firm size.
HR & transformation
JDN : Derniers contenus · Tier B
The fact. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744, in force since 27 July 2026, rewrote Article 4 of the AI Act. It no longer requires ensuring a "sufficient level" of AI literacy: providers and deployers must take measures to support its development among their staff.
What it changes for you. As soon as your employees use an AI assistant in their work, you are a deployer, with no size threshold. You no longer have to guarantee a level reached by each person; you must be able to show the measures taken.
The question to ask on Monday. "What measures have we taken to develop our employees' AI literacy, and where are they recorded?"
Worth quoting. "This obligation does not require providers or deployers to guarantee any specific level of AI literacy of any individual." — Article 4 as amended
Column by a compliance adviser. The text of the amended Article 4 was checked in the Official Journal of the European Union.
In the professions
Office français de l'intégrité scientifique · Tier A
The fact. On 18 September 2026 the French Office for Research Integrity published the minister's referral: it must say under what conditions AI systems can be used in research without weakening the honesty, traceability and reliability of the work. Its recommendations are due by February 2027, and it will rely on the research integrity officers of institutions.
What it changes for you. Whether you run a unit, a team or the research of a company working with public laboratories, national recommendations arrive in five months and will pass through the integrity officer. Until then the rules do not change; you can already find out which uses are current in your team.
The question to ask on Monday. "Does our research integrity officer know which AI uses are current in the team?"
Worth quoting. « L'Ofis formulera des recommandations d'ici février 2027 »
This is a commission, not a rule. The referral note is dated 29 July 2026 and cites no figure.
CNC · Tier A
The fact. Since September 2026, any application to the CNC for short-film production funding, before or after shooting, must include a note on the use of artificial intelligence. The producer states whether substantial AI use is planned at each stage, including fabrication for animation and visual effects, and the expected effects on time, jobs and budget.
What it changes for you. Your AI use becomes a signed statement in a file read by a committee. The note informs the committee members and excludes no project; it makes you write down what the tool does and what it changes for the crew.
The question to ask on Monday. "If we filled in this note for our current production, what would we write at each stage, and who would sign it?"
Worth quoting. « Nouveauté : une note sur le recours à l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans le cadre du projet présenté devra également être téléchargée »
The CNC made no announcement: the date comes from the forms' timestamps. "Substantial" is not defined, and the funding schemes for animated series carry no such mention.
LexisNexis · communiqué · Tier B
The fact. On 3 September 2026 RELX, parent of LexisNexis, announced it had completed the acquisition of Doctrine, which reports 27,000 professional users. The same day Septeo announced that of Lexbase and the launch in October of "Septeo Legal"; the group reports nearly 40,000 lawyer users in France.
What it changes for you. If your firm uses one of these tools, it has changed owner since you chose it. Neither press release says where client data will be hosted or what happens to their contract.
The question to ask on Monday. "Which of our tools have changed shareholder, and what does our contract say about where our data is hosted?"
Worth quoting. « Le Groupe RELX […] annonce avoir finalisé l'acquisition de Doctrine »
Vendor press releases: user numbers are self-reported and amounts are not disclosed.
Reuters Institute · Tier B
The fact. Journalist Katya Gorchinskaya has recorded in a public database, J·Index, more than 3,000 uses of AI by news organisations in 142 countries. Nearly a third come from small, local or hyperlocal newsrooms, and about 60% serve newsroom work instead of commercial activities.
What it changes for you. A small newsroom no longer has to wonder whether AI is reserved for large titles: newsrooms of its size have published what they do with it. The database lets you look for a case close to yours before starting a trial.
The question to ask on Monday. "Which newsroom of our size has already done what we are considering, and what does it say about it?"
Worth quoting. "Nearly a third of the AI implementations covered come from small, local and hyperlocal newsrooms."
The record covers only what is public and is not exhaustive, by its author's own account. It says nothing about results.
The cut of the month
AI Is Supposed to Be Taking Jobs. Why Are the Jobs Most Exposed to AI Paying 46% More? — Artificial Intelligence on Medium
This claim is too good to be true and flattering for executives, but it lacks method and changes no decision.
Lire cette édition en français
All editions