South African businesses are increasingly turning to generative AI (GenAI) to tackle operational inefficiencies, as they face growing pressure to do more with fewer resources, amid budget constraints.
The technology, once considered experimental, is now being deployed to solve real-world business problems.
This is according to Amantha Naidoo, executive MD of NTT Data South Africa, who tells ITWeb that the IT services provider is seeing growth in its GenAI business, signalling a broader acceleration of AI adoption in the South African market.
NTT Data South Africa, which established its GenAI business in 2024, has seen GenAI entering a new era in SA, defined not by experimentation, but by execution.
Banks, retailers and large service providers are increasingly implementing AI-powered knowledge assistants, document intelligence solutions and AI embedded into existing platforms, such as CRM and ERP systems, Naidoo notes.
“Organisations in South Africa are under pressure to do more with fewer resources. GenAI helps reduce manual work and supports employees without increasing headcount. The technology is helping remove friction in everyday processes, allowing teams to focus on judgement, relationships and strategic decisions. That is where the real value lies.”
A surge in demand for automated content and data analytics, and the rising expectation for real-time, intelligent decision-making tools, has seen GenAI adoption in SA accelerate significantly over the past 18–24 months, shifting from isolated pilot projects, to enterprise-wide deployments embedded in core business systems.
Initially driven by curiosity and experimentation, uptake is now fuelled by financial pressure, skills shortages and the need for measurable productivity gains, Naidoo explains.
“Executives now expect a clear return on investment and strong governance. They want partners who can industrialise AI responsibly. Demand is strongest in areas that solve real operational problems. As platforms like CRM and ERP embed AI, organisations want custom agents that fit their data and workflows.”
Integrating AI
According to the South African Generative AI Roadmap 2025, compiled by World Wide Worx in collaboration with Dell Technologies and Intel, GenAI experienced rapid growth and adoption in SA in 2025, marking a significant shift from experimentation to active deployment across various industries.
While ChatGPT is used by 93% of surveyed businesses, Microsoft Copilot has also seen a major rise in usage, climbing from 62% in 2024, to 74% in 2025, largely due to its integration into existing workflows, it says.
“Despite the high adoption rates, the rapid acceleration has highlighted significant gaps in governance and strategic planning. Only 14% of organisations have a formal, company-wide GenAI strategy, and just 13% have implemented ethical, data privacy, or bias-mitigation frameworks,” the study notes.
A study conducted by Accenture states that despite acceleration, the adoption of GenAI in SA faces several hurdles. Data quality, for one, is a significant challenge. AI systems are only as good as the data they are trained on, and SA’s data landscape reflects the country’s inequalities, with underserved regions often generating limited digital data, it says.
According to Naidoo, the most requested categories among NTT Data South Africa’s clients are enterprise co-pilots and knowledge assistants. Clients use these tools to support employees, contact centres, claims teams and service desks.
Second is document and content intelligence – there is strong demand for AI that can work with contracts, regulatory documents, claims files and technical manuals. The value lies in faster turnaround, consistency and better decision support, she points out.
The growth of NTT Data’s GenAI unit has seen the company make a number of senior appointments, including Asokan Moodley, as head of GenAI and industry advisory for MEA; Hani Nofal, as regional head of technology solutions for MEA; and Vinesh Maharaj, as director of smart manufacturing and industry for MEA.
“AI is embedded across the entire organisation. Every engineer and architect has AI fundamentals and every employee has been trained on AI basics. It is considered a standard skill for all staff,” Naidoo concludes.
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