Insights — founder articles from Mark Wiltshire, S40 Works

50%+.

of Google searches now show an AI-written answer above the links — up from about 6.5% in January 2025.

92%.

of South African internet traffic happens on a phone, where the AI shortlist gets read first.

45%.

of South African adults already use generative AI tools like ChatGPT — the highest adoption on the continent.

Founder articles

Start here · Founder article

Want to know if you can still be found and trusted?

Why ranking is no longer enough — and what a local business can control if it wants to be quoted by AI.

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The short answer

AI answer tools no longer just list websites — they read them, then write one answer and quote a handful of sources. To be one of those quoted sources, your site has to be readable by AI, answer the question clearly in plain words, and prove it can be trusted. Ranking first on Google is no longer enough on its own.

Founder article

Why being cited is now a credibility issue for South African small business.

An S40 Works point of view on where trust is won — and lost — in a mobile, word-of-mouth market.

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Our view, in one line

In South Africa, trust is what closes the sale — and being quoted by AI is fast becoming the new front door to that trust. For a plumber, electrician or restaurant, not appearing in the AI shortlist can mean losing the job or booking before the phone rings.

Founder article

The five places South African small businesses lose customers — and how to plug the leaks

A walk through the real customer path — Find, Trust, Contact, Follow-up, Review — and where money quietly leaks out at each step.

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The short answer

Most small businesses do not lose customers because their work is poor. They lose them at five points on the journey from search to paying customer: being found, looking trustworthy, being easy to contact, following up and earning reviews. A leak at any one hands the job to a competitor — and in South Africa, the biggest leaks are often contact and follow-up.

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