Unlocking the potential of AI for small and medium enterprises

While enthusiasm for AI across South Africa’s business landscape is running high, its ability to deliver meaningful returns is still up for debate.

A recent South African AI Adoption Report by AI Strategy Africa found that GenAI adoption among large enterprises was up to 67% in 2025, yet only 13% of companies report achieving significant financial returns. 

It’s safe to say that AI is not a silver bullet, but every week seems to bring a new platform, tool or success story, often accompanied by warnings that businesses that fail to adopt AI will be left behind.

For small and medium enterprises (SMEs), where budgets are tight and capacity is limited, separating genuine opportunity from hype can be especially difficult. 

The key is understanding where AI can genuinely add value, where the potential returns  outweigh the risks, and where human expertise remains irreplaceable.

When AI helps

For many SMEs, AI delivers the most value when it takes on repetitive, time-consuming tasks that drain limited resources.

Practical examples of this could include:

• Administrative work: Tasks such as drafting emails, summarising meetings, preparing reports, managing schedules and handling routine customer queries can be streamlined with AI tools, freeing up time for higher-value activities like sales, strategy and relationship-building.
• Marketing: Without dedicated teams, small businesses often struggle to produce consistent content, conduct research or manage multiple channels. AI can support idea generation, content drafting and performance analysis, reducing the effort required to execute campaigns.
• Data analysis: While many SMEs collect decent volumes of data through accounting systems, sales platforms and customer databases, they often lack the capacity to extract meaningful insights. AI tools can help identify trends, flag risks and support more informed decision-making.

When AI doesn't help

Technology can improve processes, but it cannot compensate for weak business fundamentals. This means that if a company lacks a clear strategy, struggles with poor customer service, has weak financial controls or suffers from operational inefficiencies, introducing AI is unlikely to change the outcome. 

AI outputs are also only as good as the information provided. Business owners who rely on AI-generated content, recommendations or analysis without reviewing and verifying the results therefore risk making poor decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information.

A safe rule of thumb for small businesses is to view AI as an assistant rather than an authority. 

How to decide 

A good starting point when deciding where to incorporate AI into a business is to ask where time is being lost, which processes create bottlenecks and which tasks are repetitive but necessary.

It is also important to start small.

Rather than implementing multiple tools across the business, businesses should test one solution in a specific area and measure the results. Assess whether it improves productivity, reduces costs or enhances customer experience before expanding its use.

Most importantly, remember that technology should support business objectives, not drive them.

AI will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role in the future of business – both globally and in South Africa – and SMEs that learn to use it effectively may gain a competitive advantage.

However, successful adoption is not about using the most advanced technology available; it is about identifying practical applications that solve real business problems. 

Jeremy Lang, Managing Director at Business Partners Limited.

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