When an SME receives a compliance notification related to the use of an AI tool in its customer service, the question is no longer whether artificial intelligence is a trend. It is a matter of governance, training budget, and internal reorganization. The business news of 2024 is read through this type of concrete situation, where regulation, data, and new digital uses collide in the daily lives of companies.
AI Act and training obligations: what the European regulation on AI changes
The European regulation on AI (AI Act) came into effect on August 1, 2024. Its implementation timeline extends until 2028, but some obligations are already active. Since February 2, 2025, providers and deployers of AI systems must develop the mastery of AI among the people who use these systems on their behalf.
This is a regulatory obligation, not an HR recommendation. If a company uses a chatbot for customer support or a scoring tool for recruitment, it must ensure that the relevant employees understand the operation and limitations of these tools. Non-compliance with prohibitions on systems classified as having unacceptable risk exposes the company to sanctions of up to 7% of global annual revenue or 35 million euros.
To keep up with these regulatory developments and their impact on business models, business news on Harakiwi regularly covers this type of topic at the intersection of law and corporate strategy.
In practical terms, this means that general management must budget for specific training plans, document the uses of AI, and sometimes review the very architecture of their offerings if they rely on systems classified as “high risk.”
Customer data and predictive analysis: beyond marketing rhetoric
Customer data analysis is a recurring topic in business trends. What changes in 2024 is the simultaneous pressure of three constraints: the gradual end of third-party cookies, the strengthened requirements of the GDPR, and the rise of generative AI tools capable of processing massive volumes of information.
On the ground, many companies have invested in collection tools without structuring their data governance. This results in large but unusable customer databases, duplicates, and poorly tracked consents. The challenge is no longer to collect, but to make the data actionable within an increasingly stringent legal framework.
What this implies for SMEs
Large companies have dedicated data teams. For SMEs, the reality is different. They often deal with a poorly configured CRM and Excel exports as dashboards. Yet, the most profitable business decisions rely on a fine analysis of purchasing behaviors.
The arrival of accessible artificial intelligence tools (integrated into existing CRMs or in SaaS mode) now allows for the automation of certain predictive analyses without hiring a data scientist. Feedback on this point varies by sector and the quality of input data, but the underlying trend is clear: companies that structure their data make faster decisions.
E-commerce and physical retail: operational convergence in 2024
French e-commerce has crossed the threshold of 150 billion euros in revenue in recent years, according to estimates from Fevad. This growth is no longer at the expense of physical retail. Instead, we observe a convergence where retail locations become logistical links (click and collect, in-store returns) and where merchant sites integrate personalized advisory experiences.
For companies managing both channels, the operational challenge is synchronizing stocks, prices, and customer experience. A consumer who sees a product online at a certain price and finds it more expensive in-store will not return. Unified management tools (connected ERPs, PIM for product sheet management) have shifted from being a luxury to a necessity.
- Real-time stock synchronization between warehouse, website, and retail locations to avoid visible stockouts for the customer
- Automatic price harmonization across channels, including promotions and loyalty programs
- Centralization of customer returns regardless of the purchase channel, with complete traceability in the information system
Business creation and financing: signals to watch
The dynamics of business creation in France remain strong, largely driven by the status of micro-entrepreneur. However, the three-year survival rate tells a different story. Financing remains the main friction point, especially in a context where interest rates have significantly increased between 2022 and 2024.
The Bank of France has documented the impact of the interest rate hike cycle on the financial situation of SMEs and mid-sized companies. Access to bank credit has tightened, pushing many project holders towards alternative financing: crowdfunding, honor loans, regional aid.
What distinguishes funded projects
Successful applications share a few common characteristics:
- A detailed three-year business plan with realistic cash flow assumptions, not just a revenue forecast
- A proof of commercial traction, even modest (first clients, letters of intent, results from a market test)
- A legal structure suited to the project and the intended financing mode, chosen before the first bank meeting
Business analyses for 2024 confirm that the ability to document decisions and demonstrate rigorous governance (including on the use of AI and data management) becomes a differentiating criterion for funders. A file that integrates its regulatory compliance from the start sends a maturity signal that banks and investors clearly read.
The business landscape of 2024 is not just a list of emerging technologies. It is the articulation between regulatory compliance, data mastery, and financial solidity that separates growing companies from those that stagnate. Leaders who treat these three issues as a block, rather than as separate boxes to check, start with a structural advantage.
