South Africa, Sept. 8 -- Obtaining information

South Africans, like other consumers around the world, are changing the way they obtain information. According to the Reuters Institute and Oxford University's Digital News Report 2026, growing numbers are turning to online content creators and artificial intelligence platforms for their news.

Weekly use of AI chatbots for news has risen globally from 7% to 10% in just a year, driven largely by growth in emerging markets, including Africa, while globally, 16% of people under 35 now use AI to consume news.

Although AI still plays a complementary role for most users, people are increasingly asking AI for answers rather than searching for them.

For businesses, this changes far more than how ...