French SMBs are adopting AI, but lack the skills to run it
47% of French SMBs have launched an AI project, up from 29% in early 2024. The main obstacle is now talent: 60% struggle to hire data and AI profiles. An agentic agency puts that talent within an SMB's reach.
Bpifrance tracks AI adoption in French SMBs every year. Its March 2026 report marks a turning point: 47% of SMBs have launched at least one AI project, up from 29% in early 2024, and the rate reaches 95% in companies with more than 200 employees. The appetite is there.
The same report measures what holds them back. 60% of SMBs say they struggle to hire or retain data and AI profiles, 52% cite unclear regulation (GDPR, AI Act) and 43% admit they started without a clear strategy. Projects focus first on internal process optimisation (63%) and customer relations (48%); marketing and media do not appear as a category of their own.
Take a 40-person company spending €15,000 a month on media. It knows Google, Meta and TikTok have automated much of the execution with Performance Max, Advantage+ or Smart+. It also knows it needs someone to write a plan, set the arbitration rules, read the numbers and decide. That profile is rare, costs more than its media budget, and a traditional agency usually keeps it for the big accounts.
That is the space I work in with mediagentic. Agents handle execution within a framework I write once for each client, which gives me the time to follow several accounts with the same attention. The SMB gets an experienced strategist it could not hire, for a set-up fee followed by a fixed monthly fee.
Nearly one SMB in two has started, and most are now looking for the skills to go further.