French Office Workers are Opening Up to AI
Could artificial intelligence be on its way to becoming white-collar workers’ new favorite colleague? Half of those surveyed now regularly use AI, according to a study published last month by the Association for Executive Employment (Apec). That is 15% more than last year (35% in March 2025).
In the space of one year, Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT and other tools have carved out a place for themselves in the open-plan offices and quiet workplaces of French companies. Generative artificial intelligence has become an ordinary work tool for a majority of managers and professional employees.
Previously confined to tech-savvy profiles, AI is now spreading across all categories of workers. Employees under 35 remain the biggest users, with 62% using it weekly, but growth is also evident among those over 55. Thirty-three percent of these senior employees use AI at least once a week, 12 points higher than a year ago.
In practice, most white-collar workers rely on their new digital colleagues to search for ideas, draft reports or emails, summarize documents, or analyze problems before making decisions. Among frequent users, 84% believe AI improves their efficiency, while 81% say it helps them generate new ideas.
Among managers who use AI regularly, more than half admit turning to it for advice on management issues or even to prepare annual performance reviews for the employees they supervise. “In some companies, employees have even come up with a nickname for AI. They have almost made it a member of the team,” observes Jean-Baptiste Barfety, founder of the Sens project—a collective of executives and HR directors—and author of a recent report on AI use in business.
Faced with AI’s growing presence, companies are being forced to adapt quickly. According to the Apec study, AI is increasingly viewed less as a threat and more as a strategic opportunity. “There is real progress among companies that not only accept the use of AI but explicitly encourage it,” notes Emmanuel Kahn, head of research at Apec. In 2026, nearly one company out of two says it now supports the use of these tools, a proportion that rises to 70% among large corporations.
Some jobs will disappear
Even so, this cultural shift remains only lightly regulated. Usage guidelines and specialized training programs remain uncommon, including within large companies. Only 29% of managers and professional employees say they have received training in AI, either generally or specifically related to their profession. Among the circa 1,000 companies surveyed by Apec, only a minority had adopted AI usage charters or best-practice guidelines.
Several HR directors from major French companies such as Vinci, EDF, and Renault have recently taken a public stance by signing a manifesto “for collaborative AI and human responsibility.”
“The effects of AI will depend on the intentions of managers, teams, and organizations,” says Barfety, who initiated the manifesto. “The companies that succeed in this transformation will not necessarily be those that deploy the most AI everywhere as quickly as possible, but those that make this transition while implementing AI and at the same time cultivating what is fundamentally human within organizations.”
“There are certainly jobs that will evolve, and perhaps disappear,” acknowledges Anne-Catherine Ropers, HR director of Crédit Agricole and a signatory of the manifesto. “Open-outcry traders no longer exist on trading floors. That doesn’t mean traders no longer exist.”
The executive dismisses the prospect of a wave of layoffs linked to artificial intelligence. “I do not see it as a primary cause of layoffs,” agrees Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the Renault Group and another signatory of the document.
The manifesto, signed by 17 major companies, notably advocates “ensuring that entry-level positions do not dry up, since they remain the primary training ground for tomorrow’s experts.”
As artificial intelligence is deployed on a large scale, questions about its impact on hiring junior employees are becoming increasingly pressing. A study conducted by Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab and published in November 2025 found that AI had reduced employment among younger workers by 16% in the most exposed professions, such as sales and communications.
While the disruptions shaking the labor market across the Atlantic have not yet fully reached Europe’s shores, some early signs are already being felt.
“Some companies have also decided to reduce the number of interns and apprentices in order to encourage employees to use the AI systems in which they have invested,” Anne Richard, president of the National Association of HR Directors (ANDRH), told Le Figaro several months ago.
Although this hiring freeze is intended to be temporary, it is adding further strain to a job market that is already struggling.
