Between intense field presence, a growing administrative burden, and the still poorly regulated arrival of artificial intelligence, the profession of pharmaceutical sales representative is evolving rapidly. Sidely surveyed 106 pharmaceutical representatives in France between March and May 2026 on their daily organization, their compensation, their digital tools, and their relationship with data and AI. Download the full study to discover all the results.

Table of contents:

• Work organization

• The work environment

• Sales organization

• Sales tools used

• The use of artificial intelligence

• Data-driven management

• The reality of the job: advantages and disadvantages

• Recruitment and career aspirations

• Compensation

Key takeaways from this study, in a few figures:

• 95.3% of representatives are in the field every day, with an average mileage of 1,045 km per week

• Administrative burden outpaces the pressure of targets as the top priority for improvement (29.1%)

• 51% pay gap between laboratories and outsourced agencies (66,600 euros compared to 44,200 euros)

• Only 12.3% of representatives have a route optimization tool, despite it being identified as the most profitable

• 73.5% believe in the potential of AI, but only 19.8% actually use it on a daily basis