Bringing artificial intelligence into the carpenter's workshop, the hair salon or the small construction company: that is the ambition of the national plan "Osez l'IA", launched on 1 July 2025. Its objective is quantified: by 2030, 100 % of large companies, 80 % of SMEs and mid-caps and 50 % of very small businesses should be using AI. One year later, the government presented an initial assessment and a "new stage". Behind the technical measures lies an issue of economic cohesion: spreading AI beyond the major cities and large groups, down to the fabric of craftsmen and small businesses.
Adoption is accelerating, but remains uneven
Official figures show a clear acceleration. According to the France Num 2026 barometer, conducted among more than 9 000 businesses and published on 28 September, 40 % of very small businesses and SMEs now use AI solutions, an increase of 14 percentage points in one year. The proportion reaches 53 % among SMEs. Uses remain mainly generative: 34 % of businesses use it to produce text, voice or images, 24 % for assistants or information search tools.
These averages mask a persistent gap between SMEs, which are better equipped, and very small businesses. The barometer also notes an erosion of confidence among very small businesses in the benefits of digital technology. For a craftsman, the obstacle is not the existence of tools but their appropriation: interfaces designed for structured businesses, marketing that goes through digital channels, and little time to experiment.
The plan's measures
The plan is based on three axes: raising awareness, training and supporting, and on several complementary tools.
- The AI Ambassadors: a network of field relays selected for their practical knowledge of AI. It has 615 members in 20 regions and local authorities, including overseas territories, and covers 13 sectors. According to the government, more than 35 000 businesses have been made aware in one year.
- A catalogue of sovereign solutions: on 13 May 2026, Thomas Courbe, Director General for Enterprise, and Bruno Bonnell, Secretary General for Investment in charge of France 2030, launched with the support of Hub France IA a call for expressions of interest to identify French or European providers of solutions adapted to SMEs and mid-caps. The first deadline was set for 5 June. The catalogue, published on 30 July, lists 88 companies.
- A craft sector component: from January to February 2026, the DGE and the AI Ambassadors launched a call for expressions of interest to identify solutions for craft businesses, particularly in construction, to feed a practical guide based on concrete use cases.
- Support from Bpifrance: the "Data AI Diagnostics", covered at 40 % by France 2030 for companies with 10 to 2 000 employees, and the "AI Accelerators", support over 18 months. Seventy diagnostics were underway in September 2026; the government aims for 1 000.
Sovereignty right into the workshop
The emphasis on the "sovereign" nature of the listed solutions is not trivial. Candidates for the catalogue had to demonstrate a European base and actual deployments with SMEs or mid-caps. The idea is that an electrician or an accounting firm can use AI tools without their data passing through infrastructures beyond European control. This is a concrete, and often overlooked, application of technological sovereignty: we readily talk about sovereign language models or cloud for large groups, much less about how a very small business can, on a daily basis, use AI that complies with European rules.
The government explicitly links this dissemination to European industrial strategy. Launching in November 2025 the national call for expressions of interest for the future Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) dedicated to AI, closed on 30 January 2026, Anne Le Hénanff, Minister Delegate for AI and Digital, stated:
"With this major project, Europe is taking a new step to equip itself with champions in artificial intelligence. I want France to continue to play a driving role: this call for expressions of interest will directly contribute to strengthening our digital sovereignty, both French and European. I invite all French AI players to seize this opportunity." (Anne Le Hénanff, 26 November 2025)
Since then, the project has progressed: on 16 September 2026, the European Commission welcomed the initiative of 19 Member States to pre-notify this first IPCEI in the field of AI. Democratising usage also means creating a market for European solutions.
The distribution challenge
The real obstacle is not technological, it is human. The tools exist; what is missing is the ability to make them known, to demonstrate their usefulness and to overcome reluctance. A craftsman will not spontaneously look for an AI solution: you have to go to them, show them an immediate benefit, such as writing quotes, managing appointments or invoicing, and reassure them about the security of their data.
The government itself acknowledges this. On the first anniversary of the plan, on 3 September 2026, Anne Le Hénanff set the course: "moving from awareness to action, reaching out to businesses that still think AI is not for them". The orders of magnitude remind us of the scale of the task. Raising awareness among 35 000 businesses in one year is a start; France has several million very small businesses.
Lessons from digitisation plans
France is not on its first attempt. The France Num voucher and various support programmes have helped businesses to get a website or management tools, but these measures have often struggled to reach the structures furthest from digital. The windfall effect has frequently benefited businesses already engaged in their transition.
To avoid this pitfall, mobilising local relays will be decisive: chambers of trades and crafts, chambers of commerce and industry, professional organisations, chartered accountants. The regions, leaders in economic development, also have a key role. Without clear coordination between the State, the regions and local players, businesses risk getting lost in a jungle of aid.
A cohesion issue
Beyond competitiveness, it is a question of territorial justice. A France where AI remained the preserve of large companies and major cities, while craftsmen and rural areas fall behind, would see its economic inequalities worsened by a technological divide. The "Osez l'IA" plan and its catalogue of sovereign solutions are moving in the right direction. Their success will not be measured by the number of calls for expressions of interest launched, but by the number of craftsmen and small businesses that, in 2030, will actually use AI in their daily activity.
Sources: DGE, one year of the "Osez l'IA" plan, 3 September 2026; DGE, France Num 2026 barometer, 28 September 2026; DGE, launch of the AMI on sovereign AI solutions, 13 May 2026; Hub France IA, AMI catalogue; DGE, publication of the catalogue, 30 July 2026; DGE, AMI AI tools for craft businesses; DGE, AMI IPCEI "Artificial Intelligence", 26 November 2025; European Commission, 16 September 2026.
