Malt: AI Redefines Work at Unprecedented Speed

The Impact of AI on Freelancers and Businesses

To understand the rapid evolution of the job market, it is essential to look at freelancers, who are often at the forefront of new trends. Malt, a platform that connects freelancers with 80% of CAC 40 companies, recently published its report Malt Tech Trends 2026. This document, based on an analysis of 100,000 companies, highlights an accelerated transformation in technological usage. With 1 million experts in Europe and the Middle East, Malt is well-positioned to observe these changes.

The report reveals that we have entered the "agentic phase" of AI. In 2024, conversational assistants using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) were in vogue, allowing a model to connect to a company's internal documents. However, 2026 marks the advent of autonomous agents capable of executing actions. Claire Lebarz, Chief Technology Officer and AI at Malt, emphasizes that this phase is progressing faster than previous ones, disrupting the technological ecosystem. She asserts that this skill and technology is the fastest ever seen, constituting a major trend that is redefining the ecosystem.

A Growing Demand for Agentic AI

The nature of projects is evolving: companies are no longer just looking for experts to code interfaces, but for profiles capable of designing autonomous systems. The demand for skills in agentic AI has surged by 60% in one year. Claire Lebarz explains that this is just the beginning of a fundamental shift where the lines between technologies are blurring, transforming AI into a true production partner.

This change is accompanied by a decline in interest for traditional skills like Java and WordPress, which have decreased by 20 to 30%. This disinterest does not mean the disappearance of these tools, but rather a massive shift in companies' attention towards more agile solutions. Claire Lebarz specifies that classic code stacks, such as Java, TypeScript, and Python, which have dominated the top 10 for eight years, have lost their place due to the accelerating demand for AI.

At the same time, low code and no code tools are revolutionizing software development. The use of the automation tool n8n has increased 14-fold in one year, and Zapier has seen growth of over 1500%. These tools allow for the creation of applications through visual interfaces, thus changing the role of engineers. Claire Lebarz notes that experts are now expected to code with traditional technologies for the core of the infrastructure, but also to master tools that enable much faster experimentation.

AI Expands Across All Sectors

The impact of AI extends far beyond the technological realm. The human resources, marketing, and finance sectors are also affected. Today, 22% of project requests include skills in AI, even for non-technical projects. Claire Lebarz highlights that this is a clear signal that tomorrow, AI will be a sought-after skill in all professions. A study from March revealed that 16.3% of jobs in France could be threatened by AI within two to five years.

Freelancers, often ahead of trends, dedicate an average of four hours per week to their ongoing training to remain competitive. Claire Lebarz notes that talents who have made the shift to AI are the most capable of working on these projects. Companies are turning to these freelancers to quickly integrate innovation into their teams, without waiting for internal training cycles, which are often slower.

Challenges of Compliance and Cybersecurity

The industrialization of AI within companies poses compliance challenges. The demand for expertise in AI regulation has increased by 380%. Claire Lebarz specifies that one in two projects is now related to compliance, requiring specialized profiles such as Chief Data Officers or transitional data protection officers. AI creates new vulnerabilities that companies must urgently address. In one year, the number of freelancers specialized in cybersecurity has surged by 65%. One in two cybersecurity projects is now dedicated to ensuring compliance of systems.

Finally, FinOps is experiencing a growth of 72%, helping companies manage cloud resource consumption in real-time to prevent technology bills from becoming uncontrollable. Claire Lebarz concludes that the maturity level of companies is no longer related to their size, but to their ability to integrate these new skills. Even in the public sector, an extremely strong acceleration is observed. Today, the difference lies in leadership and the ability of organizations to integrate these experts who redefine the boundaries of the possible every day.