How Different Uses of AI Shape Labor Demand: Evidence from France

Using French firm-level data on AI adoption from 2017–2020, the authors find that, first, firms adopting AI are larger and more productive and skill intensive. Second, difference-in-difference estimates reveal an increase in firm-level employment and sales after AI adoption, suggesting that the induced productivity gains allow firms to grow and outweigh potential displacement effects. Third, occupations classified in recent work as substitutable with AI expand. Fourth, AI usage is a relevant dimension of heterogeneity in the labor demand response: The authors find positive employment growth for certain uses (e.g., information and communications technology security) and negative for others (e.g., administrative processes).