Access to AI is no longer an advantage in itself: all firms now have the same tools within reach. What makes the difference today is how quickly teams learn to use them in practical ways.
According to Laurent Salanié, the advantage will go to firms capable of learning quickly, experimenting, and integrating AI into their practices. The reasoning is simple: the best tools quickly become accessible to everyone, and access to technology loses some of its strategic value. Everything now depends on the ability to imagine relevant uses, not on the size of the cheque signed for a software licence.
This shift has a direct consequence for employability: many executives still approach AI as just another technical topic, entrusted to innovation or business teams, a reflex that quickly shows its limitations because AI is first understood through practice. Professionals who experiment personally, document their trials, and iterate gain a head start over those waiting for top-down training.
Another useful signal for candidates and recruiters: if the advantage is shifting from investment to learning, mid-sized firms possess often underestimated strengths, because they are structured enough to train their teams and spread best practices while remaining close enough to the field to experiment quickly. A profile able to demonstrate a concrete use of AI in a specific business case is often worth more than a degree or a generalist certificate.
This week: choose a recurring task in your profession, test a generative AI tool on it for three days, carefully note what worked and what did not, then turn this feedback into a concrete line to add to your CV or LinkedIn profile rather than a vague mention of “AI proficiency”.