Standards, Innovation, and Digital Transformation
The digital transformation of organizations is prompting AFNOR to evolve its business model and work methods, as well as its processes for developing voluntary standards, publishing standards, and providing market intelligence solutions for its clients. All of this is being done in collaboration with its European and international partners, and through the judicious and responsible use of artificial intelligence tools.
Smart Standards: The New Face of Standards and Standardization
The term “SMART Standards” refers to the digital transformation of voluntary standards and standardization. The acronym SMART stands for Standard Machine Applicable Readable Transferable—in other words, a standard that is machine-applicable, machine-readable, and machine-transferable.
Originally designed to be read by humans, voluntary standards used to take the form of paper documents. Today, they are available in PDF or XML formats, allowing them to be read or searched on screen and then processed by software. In the future, it is set to become a data-centric entity that can be integrated into users’ software and information systems. AFNOR is at the forefront of this development alongside its partners at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The digital transformation of standards also takes place early on, during the joint drafting phase. AFNOR and its partners have therefore rolled out a collaborative platform, OSD (Online Standards Development), which enables seamless document management and effective coordination among stakeholders.
Objectives and Benefits of Smart Standards:
- Saving Time When Implementing Standards
- Easily identify requirements
- Automate content integration and prevent data entry errors
- Standardize the use of standards in a dedicated digital format
- To facilitate comparisons between technical guidelines and standards.
The Evolution of the Standard
Innovative AI-based solutions for analyzing, monitoring, and implementing standards
With its innovation program, AFNOR Éditions is ushering in a new era in which standards become smart and connected. The program helps organizations develop a more intuitive relationship with standards that is better suited to real-world situations. The innovation program brings together all the innovative tools and services needed to bring standards to life.
ReqIF: Standards Directly in Your Tools
AFNOR Editions has created a service to streamline the process of integrating standards requirements into production tools. ReqIF (Requirement Interchange Format) provides a detailed breakdown of the standard. Access is quick and easy, without compromising the rigor of applying the standards requirements. This service is the first of its kind to allow users to incorporate standards content directly into their business tools!
AI Companion: The Intelligence of Standards, Amplified
It’s hard to keep track of everything! CObaz, the solution from AFNOR Éditions, incorporates the most innovative technologies and helps you identify, view, understand, apply, and monitor the regulatory and standards documents essential to your business. In 2026, it will be enhanced with an AI-based module, COmpagnon IA, designed to help professionals quickly access the essential information they need from among thousands of standards for their projects, products, and innovations,
AI in Certification Auditing
AFNOR Certification is making its internal chatbot, Félix, available to its 2,000 auditors to help them build their expertise. This initiative is part of AFNOR Certification’s strategy for “augmented auditing,” designed to support its teams, auditors, and clients. Félix assists auditors throughout the entire audit process:
- during preparation: analysis of standards, planning under constraints, development of audit plans, verification of activity codes;
- during implementation: generating or reviewing audit findings;
- During the follow-up phase: synthesis, cross-analysis of documents, and consolidation of deliverables.
Help with compiling audit reports and identifying trends
AI also enables the large-scale analysis of audit findings. For example, in 2025, AFNOR Certification was able to analyze more than 600 ISO/IEC 27001 certification audit reports and approximately 11,000 findings in record time, quickly categorizing them to inform the work of experts and highlight trends and best practices in information security management. These analyses, made possible on a large scale by Félix, provide auditors with new insights and enhance the feedback loop for teams and clients. Download the study here!
In 2026, AFNOR Certification repeated the process with 20,000 AFQ ISO 9001 and 14001 certification audit reports. More information here . A project is currently underway for AFAQ ISO 45001 certification audits.
Internally, a well-managed digital transformation
The AFNOR Group is committed to carrying out its digital transformation while adhering to best practices in security, sovereignty, and ethics. In this regard, it is an extension of its CSR initiative, “Together, We Take Responsibility.”
Cybersecurity and Sovereignty
Cybersecurity is a priority at AFNOR, which suffered a major cyberattack in 2021. The group implements the requirements of the ISO/IEC 27001 standard on information security management and sought to demonstrate this commitment by obtaining ISO/IEC 27001 certification for the scope of activities carried out by the Information Systems Department (ISD).
When selecting its tools and infrastructure—including cloud computing solutions—AFNOR places a strong emphasis on solutions developed in France and Europe (for example, for its meeting minutes tool). Similarly, in its use of AI and generative AI, the group favors a restrained and responsible approach, in line with the AFNOR Spec IA frugale standard which it published in 2024, following a project to define best practices led by some twenty stakeholders. In February 2025, following the AI Summit At an event organized by the Office of the President of the Republic, AFNOR joined the Global Coalition for Sustainable AI.
An AI charter to provide a framework for its use
The group has developed a proprietary AI tool, Félix, which is available to employees to make their work easier. Access to Félix is subject to prior acceptance of the AFNOR AI Charter, which explicitly states the primacy of human decision-making and sets out guidelines for the responsible use of AI:
• the principles of sensible and responsible use of AI, particularly with regard to the protection of personal, industrial, and commercial data, as well as energy consumption
• the consultant’s ultimate responsibility for any findings, conclusions, or recommendations included in their deliverables
• the obligation to be transparent with customers regarding the use of AI tools when they are used in the analysis.
