AI use on the rise in companies with more than 10 employees

Companies are making increasing use of Artificial Intelligence, particularly in agriculture, industry, finance and commerce. The use of AI is also more marked among employers in large companies to improve quality of life at work.

A wide range of business sectors

In May 2023, Pôle emploi conducted a survey of 3,000 establishments with 10 or more employees in France to determine their use of Artificial Intelligence. The results show that 35% of them are using it or are in the process of deploying it. According to the survey results, 57% have no current plans.

Companies that use AI the most are those in the agriculture (58%), industry (50%), finance (44% ) and retail (40%) sectors. Conversely, AI-related technologies are less prevalent in establishments involved in construction and personal services.

The survey shows that the use of AI is more significant among larger establishments, since it concerns 45% of companies with 200 or more employees.

A wide range of uses

The main uses of AI concern :

  • diagnostic tools for decision-making (16%),
  • natural language processing to extract information or converse with customers (13%),
  • robotics (11%).

Interviewed by Les Echos newspaper, Cécile Dejoux, university professor at CNAM and author of the book " Ce sera l'AI ou/et moi ", believes that the use of Artificial Intelligence is becoming more sophisticated, with more and more companies subscribing to private, closed-circuit generative AI tools.

" Companies have now realized that AI is going to change their business model, and that if they don't get on board they'll be overtaken by the competition ," she points out.

Positive effects on working life

For the employers questioned in the survey conducted by Pôle emploi, AI has a positive impact on professional activity, and in particular on:

  • skills development (74%),
  • employee performance (72%),
  • employee health and safety (66%),
  • employee autonomy (64%),
  • reduction of time-consuming tasks (63%),
  • customer relations (58%),
  • the risk of error (51%).

40% of business leaders believe that Artificial Intelligence technologies will enable them to reduce labor costs. This job destruction could be offset by the emergence of new, more human-centered professions.

So, for the time being, several obstacles are holding back the development of AI in companies:

  • investment costs (45%),
  • lack of in-house expertise (38%),
  • compatibility with existing tools (38%),
  • staff reluctance (31%),
  • customer reluctance (15%).