While generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool ChatGPT remains widely used by local corporates, new research shows a dramatic turnaround for Microsoft’s AI assistant, Copilot.
The US software giant’s AI chatbot-based offering rose in the rankings to second place in 2025, based on GenAI tools and platforms used locally. Last year, the tool nabbed the third spot.
This is according to the newly-released South African Generative AI Roadmap 2025, which surveys over 100 mid-sized and large enterprises across industry sectors in SA, conducted by World Wide Worx, in association with Dell Technologies and Intel.
The report shows GenAI adoption has climbed in SA, from 45% of large enterprises in 2024, to 67% in2025.
Arthur Goldstuck, World Wide Worx CEO and principal analyst of the study, stated that ChatGPT “absolutely” dominated last year, with usage at 93%.
“It maintained that level, but we saw Copilot leaping up from 62% in 2024 to 74% in 2025,” he revealed.
“That jump while ChatGPT remained static, suggests that Copilot is ‘coming for you’. We were very surprised to see [Google’s] Gemini falling in usage from 56% to 41%, which could be attributed to the fact that they haven’t quite kept up with the other free tools available online.
“The other factor for Copilot is that Microsoft built it into its Office suite and enterprise tools, making it automatically there for you. You would have probably noticed when using a Windows PC, Copilot will randomly pop up and ask how it can help you. This raises the question of whether there’ll be a challenge to Microsoft about the extent to which they dominate the Windows desktop, in terms of AI tools.
“It certainly gives them the big advantage and we expect them to compete intensively with ChatGPT in the coming year or two.”
Other platforms noted in the findings are the paid-for version of ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, DALL-E 2 and Deepseek.
Generative AI – which enables the use of AI to generate texts, images and code − made headlines throughout 2023, following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022.
Without governance, organisations are walking blindfolded into a future shaped by AI.
ChatGPT brought to public attention the power of GenAI. Since then, there has been a flurry of GenAI models and tools that have been brought to market, including on the local front.
Copilot started rolling out in September 2023, as part of Microsoft’s free update to Windows 11 across Bing, Edge and Microsoft 365.
In November 2023, it was made generally available for Microsoft 365 enterprise customers, along with Microsoft 365 Chat, as the software giant transforms all its products to include AI tools developed by its AI start-up partner OpenAI. It has since expanded to consumers and small businesses, after initially only offering it to enterprises.
Blind embrace
South African enterprises are rapidly integrating GenAI into their operations, said Goldstuck. This, of course, is evidenced by the uptick in GenAI adoption witnessed this year compared to last year.
However, most are doing so without formal strategies, dedicated leadership, or the infrastructure required to maximise value and minimise risk.
According to the analyst, the dramatic rise positions GenAI as the fastest-moving digital trend in the country.
However, in a rush to adopt the fast-growing technology, there is a need for organisations to take the foundational steps of planning and governance, he stated.
Goldstuck added that doing so will connect AI to people and processes, and help organisations reap genuine, sustaining return on investment.
“Many organisations are simply unaware of the gaps they’re leaving in their systems,” he said. “The risk goes beyond the technical, and includes reputational, ethical and operational vulnerability. While the first step of technology adoption is well underway, our survey demonstrates there is room for operational growth.”
According to the report’s findings, 86% of GenAI users cite increased competitiveness as a result of using AI tools. A further 83% reported improved productivity, while 66% see enhanced customer service.
Further insights in the B2B enterprise survey reveal that only 14% of organisations have a formal company-wide GenAI strategy.
Another operational gap is that just 13% of organisations have implemented governance or ethical frameworks in the form of guardrails for safety, privacy and bias mitigation. On the other hand, 39% cite high implementation cost as the primary barrier to GenAI adoption.
“What’s most startling is that many companies think using a GenAI tool is the same as having an AI strategy,” Goldstuck commented.
As companies race to embed GenAI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT into business functions, most are overlooking deeper transformation through infrastructure, skills and internal capability. Holistic AI infrastructure, combined with people and processes, is critical to scaling AI deployments and clearly connecting them to tangible return on investment.
The report cautions that companies should be aware of ‘shadow AI’, which is the unsanctioned use of GenAI by employees without oversight.
Goldstuck noted that last year’s findings revealed that 34% of companies were using AI unofficially, with 24% of those completely unofficially (shadow AI). A further 10% was a mix of official and unofficial.
In 2025, the number of organisations using officially-approved GenAI increased, both officially and unofficially.
According to the findings, currently, 32% of businesses report shadow GenAI use, driven by everyone’s discovery of the power of AI and what it can do, and not waiting for companies’ approval for AI to be used, said Goldstuck.
A further 20% report a mix of official and unofficial GenAI use, while 84% say oversight is an important or very important success factor for GenAI deployment.
Goldstuck explained that the current use of GenAI is largely taking place in a regulatory and ethical vacuum. “The longer this continues, the more harm can be caused, to both businesses and individuals, before these guardrails are in place.
“Without governance, organisations are walking blindfolded into a future shaped by AI. That might be exciting, but it is not sustainable.”
The report also cautions that South Africa could find itself divided by the ability to use GenAI wisely and scale deployments as the technology matures.
“There’s a real risk of a GenAI disconnect in South Africa between those who use GenAI deliberately, strategically and ethically, and those who use it blindly or not at all,” said Goldstuck.
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