AI-driven tools have been evolving for decades, but when ChatGPT was released to the public on 30 November 2022, it set off the fastest adoption of a technology in human history. It took just two months for 100 million users to sign up to ChatGPT.
According to the Microsoft AI Economy Institute’s 2025 AI Diffusion Report, three years on, more than 1.2 billion people across the globe are now active monthly users of standalone AI tools.
Director of storytelling for BrandMapp, Brandon de Kock, asks: “If one in six people globally now use AI tools, what does that look like in South Africa’s middle class?”
BrandMapp 2025 is the latest and largest dataset mapping the consumer behaviours and sentiments of those living in households with R10k+ monthly income.
“What we are seeing is a rate of adoption among our digitally connected and digitally skilled consumer class that matches the global average by Microsoft,” says De Kock. “Our latest results reveal AI use is already normalised in daily life and/or work for 79% of the South African mid-to-top income earners – that’s roughly 11 million people.”
A somewhat rosy outlook on AI
While there are many things that keep South Africans awake at night – crime (57%), corruption (50%) and rising prices (42%) – the potential dark side of AI is not significant at this time.
De Kock says, “It’s interesting that in the face of relentless fearmongering, only 14% of the consumer class say they worry generally about the rise of AI – a decidedly lukewarm reaction to the global concerns of replacement, misinformation, bias and ethics. Only 11% say they don’t really trust AI answers. 10% say they are worried that AI may take jobs in their fields, and that is well-balanced by the 11% who anticipate AI creating new opportunities for them in their careers.”
“When we break this data down according to age, we see that the younger generation is particularly unperturbed about AI becoming a threat. Only 8% of middle-income students feel a niggle that AI might disrupt their chosen career path, while 9% say they are feeling excited to work in the future with AI and other technologies. That means most young people are currently agnostic, reflecting the reality that none of us know yet what the actual impacts of AI will be.”
Home grown AI positivity and pragmatism
De Kock continues, “In the meantime though, in a time-starved world, AI is proving to be a useful helper, and in general, BrandMapp is seeing a positive attitude in terms of productivity and practicality. 48% of our AI users say it saves time and 33% report that it increases their productivity and creativity.”
According to BrandMapp 2025, the 5 top uses of AI by SA’s consumer class are:
- Research – 52%
- Writing – 38%
- Studying – 27%
- Fun and experimentation – 27%
- Creative work – 20%
De Kock concludes, “What we must keep in mind is that AI use has gone from zero to 80% in just three years. That’s an exceptionally rapid shift in behaviour – most likely driven by the blend of openness and optimistic expectations, and the user friendliness of the tools.
“We are very much still in the honeymoon phase. What will be fascinating is tracking how these sentiments and behaviours shift over the next few years, as AI’s fuller impact on our work daily lives begins to unfold.”
BrandMapp 2025 insights are available directly from the BrandMapp team at WhyFive Insights and by subscription via Telmar, Softcopy, Nielsen and Eighty20. For data access email Julie-anne@whyfive.co.za
