AI and security for French firms that sell abroad
Your export desk in France runs on English paperwork. AI can carry more of it.
US purchase orders, certificates, invoices, and buyer security forms pile up on a small team. We build AI that reads them, checks the numbers, and routes the rest to a person. We work in English, from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Remote-first. We reply within one business day, US Eastern Time.
The orders come in English. The follow-up lands on two people.
Picture a 60-person PME (a small or mid-size firm) in Occitanie that machines parts for aircraft, or a family cognac house in Charente that ships to New York. The US buyer sends a purchase order as a PDF. Then come packing lists, certificates of origin, and a 90-question security form. Most of it gets typed into your order system by hand.
Your export manager is good, and tired. They switch between French and English all day and redo a form because a US customer changed the template again. When they take a week off in August, the backlog shows. The work is routine. You just can't find a safe way to hand it off.
A firm that makes something good enough to sell across an ocean shouldn't lose its best people to copy and paste. Routine paperwork deserves a routine fix, with clear rules on where the data goes.
We know the US side of your customer's desk
Large US buyers send the same kinds of forms again and again: supplier onboarding, security questionnaires, questions about how you use AI. As a US security firm, we know what those forms are asking for, how much time they eat, and how a vague answer can stall a deal.
Network Kings is a firm based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and our security work is CISSP-led. The CISSP is a respected security certification that takes years of hands-on work to earn. Our lead engineer has 15 years in regulated financial services. Every project is controlled, scoped, and auditable: you approve a written scope first, and there's a record of what the system did. If AI isn't the right tool for your problem, we'll tell you, and point you to a simpler fix.
Where AI automation helps a French exporter first
Good AI automation in France starts with one process that wastes hours every week. Here is where we usually begin with firms that trade abroad.
Three steps, starting with one process
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Tell us about one process. Send a short note or book a 15-minute call. Sample documents help.
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Get a written scope and price. We list what data we'd touch, where it's stored, and who can see it, so your DPO or lawyer can review it before anything starts.
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We build it and hand it over. We test it on real documents, train your people, and log every step.
What France makes, and where AI and security fit
France is a country of makers and traders: aircraft parts, medicines, cosmetics, wine, and cheese all ship abroad in volume. Much of that trade runs through PME (petites et moyennes entreprises). Tens of thousands of them export, and many sell to the United States, one of France's biggest customers.
That trade creates a steady flow of paperwork in English: orders, invoices, customs forms, and supplier checks. AI handles this work well when fixed rules cover amounts and codes and a person checks anything unclear.
Security matters just as much. Breaches reported to the CNIL rose again in 2025, and large buyers now ask suppliers to show how they protect data.
- In 2023, 43,018 French PME (not counting microenterprises) exported goods, along with 131,826 microenterprises. Source: INSEE, Entreprises exportatrices selon la taille (opens in a new tab)
- France exported €614.7 billion of goods in 2025, up 2.5 percent from 2024, with higher aircraft deliveries a main driver. Source: French Customs (DGDDI), 2025 foreign trade results (opens in a new tab)
- Trade in goods and services between France and the US reached a record $182 billion in 2025. Aerospace ($11.7 billion) and pharmaceuticals ($11.5 billion) led French exports to the US. Source: Direction générale du Trésor, France-US economic relations (opens in a new tab)
- Agrifood is France's largest industry by jobs, with about 666,000 employees in 2023. Source: INSEE Première no. 2084, industrial firms in 2023 (opens in a new tab)
- The CNIL received 6,167 data breach notifications in 2025, up 9.5 percent, and one in two involved hacking. Source: CNIL, 2025 annual report (opens in a new tab)
GDPR, the CNIL, and the EU AI Act, in plain words
In France, personal data falls under the EU's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, 2016/679) and the French law that sits beside it, the Loi Informatique et Libertés of 1978. The CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés) is the regulator. In short: collect only what you need, keep it safe, and take care when it leaves the EU. A transfer to a US firm like ours is one of the points your DPO (data protection officer) will want to check.
The EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) adds rules for AI itself. Since August 2026, chatbots must tell people they are talking to a machine, and AI-made content must be marked. A 2026 amendment (Regulation 2026/1744) pushed the strict rules for high-risk AI, such as hiring tools, to December 2027.
Here is how we work within these rules. Before any work starts, we put in writing what data we touch, where it's stored and processed, and who can access it. Your DPO or lawyer can then judge it, including the transfer question. Sensitive data can stay on hosting you control. We don't certify compliance. That decision stays with you and your counsel.
Working with a US firm from France
We're in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on US Eastern Time. France is 5 to 6 hours ahead of us, depending on the time of year. Your afternoon is our morning, and that overlap is where calls happen. We agree meeting times when we scope the work. We don't promise to work French business hours.
We work in English and Spanish, not French. For many exporters that's a plus: your US customers write in English, their forms are in English, and we know what they expect. Your local IT provider and accountant stay central. We handle the AI and security side, and we're glad to work alongside them.
Delivery is remote-first. If the project needs someone in the room, for staff training or a kickoff meeting, we can travel to you. Travel and lodging are billed separately, as their own line on the quote. Prices are in US dollars: projects start at US$4,999, professional services are US$250 an hour, and managed plans are quoted to fit.
Questions from businesses in France
Do you work in French?
No. We work in English and Spanish. The AI tools we build can read French documents, and many clients have them process French and English files side by side. But our calls, reports, and quotes are in English.
Can our data stay in the EU?
It can stay on hosting you control, wherever your rules say it must live. We write down where each piece of data is stored and who can reach it, so your DPO can decide if the setup fits.
Does the EU AI Act stop us from using AI on invoices or orders?
Usually not. The strictest rules cover high-risk uses such as hiring or credit decisions, and those were pushed to December 2027 by a 2026 amendment. Reading orders or invoices is normally not in that group. If a chatbot talks to your customers, it must say it's AI. Your lawyer should confirm how the rules apply to you.
A US customer wants a penetration test. Can you do it from Michigan?
Yes. We test remotely, and only with your written authorization and a scope we both sign off on. The report is in English, which is often what the US buyer wants to see.
How do we pay, and in what currency?
We quote and invoice in US dollars. If you want us on site, travel and lodging are quoted as a separate line.
Show us the paperwork that slows your export desk
Send a short note, or 3 to 5 sample documents with anything private blacked out. We'll reply within one business day with what AI can do for that process, and what it can't.
Free sample test. Samples are deleted within 30 days, and we'll tell you if a simpler fix beats AI.