Tech Independents Gain More from AI Contributions

In European tech, AI has become a daily tool and is claimed to be difficult to abandon. However, the time and income gains are distributed differently depending on employment status, with a net advantage for freelancers. Disparities have been observed, as well as an industrialization of projects, sometimes muted usage, and methodological limits have been specified.

A quarter of employees aim for independence within 24 months

24% of employees report seriously considering going freelance within the next 24 months. Among the main reasons cited are income levels and the desire for greater autonomy. Furthermore, 65% of full-time employees state that they have not received any salary increase related to the productivity gains brought by AI, compared to 39% among freelancers.

Time freed up by AI mainly benefits freelancers

Among freelancers, 68% leverage the time gained through AI, whether by taking on more projects, raising their fees, or reducing their working hours. For full-time employees, 43% benefit from this time, 36% believe that this gain is absorbed by their company, and 21% feel they lose it to meetings or administrative tasks.

Mixed income increases and a figure to handle with caution

Among those whose income has increased over the past year, freelancers report an average fee increase of 25%, with a median of 20%, while employees report an average of 9%, with a median of 5%. This average increase among freelancers is based on 68 individuals whose income has risen over the last twelve months and serves as a trend, not a market measure. Additionally, according to French executives surveyed by Ipsos bva for Google, 57% of companies that have invested in AI have raised their teams' salaries.

High adoption and claimed production deployment

According to the figures, 73% of professionals claim to use at least one AI agent or automated workflow in their daily activities, and 60% find it difficult to do without. From a panel of 878 people who participated in AI projects over the past twelve months, 63% report having deployed at least half of these projects into production, and 35% the majority or all, based on a definition that implies effective use and activity exceeding 90 days. These data come from practitioners' statements and are not directly comparable to the evaluation conducted by MIT in the summer of 2025, which estimated that 95% of generative AI projects do not reach operational integration. Regarding individual productivity, one in two respondents reports at least a 26% gain, and 20% declare more than 50%.

Discreet usage, reactions to a potential ban, and internal policy context

25% of professionals do not specify to their employer or clients what portion of their work involves AI. Only 1.2% actively avoid the subject, while others do not bring it up spontaneously, and no one asks them about it. 37% believe that revealing this usage increases their value, compared to 14% who fear the opposite effect. If AI were banned, 14% would continue to use it discreetly, 6.3% would leave their job or client, and 39% would comply, anticipating a decline in quality. Formal restrictions remain infrequent in the digital space: in spring 2026, 8.4% of the 807 respondents reported working for a company that discourages generative AI, compared to 10.3% in 2024.

Methodology and scope of the survey

The results are based on a panel of 1,035 technology professionals, all with at least three years of experience, distributed across 23 European countries. No third-party institute was involved, and no margin of error was communicated. The sample consists of 963 participants from the Prolific panel and 72 members of the Shakers network. Of the total, 229 are freelancers and 806 are employees, of whom 130 also engage in freelance work.