For leaders of large companies, it is difficult not to be concerned about generative artificial intelligence and its potential. The trend is radically different within VSEs and SMEs, notes a study carried out by Bpifrance.
Is ChatGPT the “new Gutenberg” as the organization wonders? If this is the case, then small businesses still need to be persuaded, starting with their bosses. The latter are few users of IAGen tools.
VSEs/SMEs in services further ahead
According to the survey, only 3% of VSE/SME managers use it regularly and 12% use it occasionally. Variations should be noted depending on the sector. In services, 24% (compared to 15% on average) of entrepreneurs use IAGen.
In construction and transport, this share drops to 4% and 5% respectively. Leaders in industry and commerce are closer to the average at 12% and 11%. The size of the structure also has an impact on usage.
“SME managers use generative AI slightly more than VSE managers (20% versus 15%). Managers of larger SMEs stand out: 28% of them use them,” the survey measures.
Are VSE/SME bosses resisting? In reality, the authors point out, the share of users within this population is aligned with the rest of the French. In May 2023, Ifop and Talan estimated it at 16%.
71% of bosses do not identify uses
Furthermore, if 72% of these bosses say they do not use these applications, it is not out of ignorance, but by choice. The reason ? 71% simply cannot find a use for it. Their collaborators are not necessarily in phase elsewhere, favoring the practice of shadow AI.
But in addition to not identifying uses for their activities, managers of small and medium-sized businesses report (21%) a lack of expertise. For Bpifrance, these results suggest “that managers have simply not yet tried these tools.”
The 15% of GenAI users use it mainly for support tasks. Thus, 56% use it for research, collection and analysis of data or information. 54% apply it to the generation of various written content (emails, reports, reports, training, etc.).
“Core business applications, such as participation in the creation of a new product or the provision of a service, are not widespread,” confirms Bpifrance. And there is nothing surprising.
“Not all companies have the means of Bloomberg (which developed its own GPT) and the projects are still at the prototype stage in several use cases,” recalls the bank. According to her, this reflects a need for support.