--- title: Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI description: A Discovery and Visa SpendTrend 2026 report reveals that AI subscriptions among upper-middle-class South Africans nearly doubled in 2025, with payment volume... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI | daily.dev og:description: A Discovery and Visa SpendTrend 2026 report reveals that AI subscriptions among upper-middle-class South Africans nearly doubled in 2025, with payment volume... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/3qZAeO4I1.png og:image:alt: Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A Discovery and Visa SpendTrend 2026 report reveals that AI subscriptions among upper-middle-class South Africans nearly doubled in 2025, with payment volume up 125% and 43% of Discovery Bank Visa clients paying for an AI tool. ChatGPT leads at 67% adoption, followed by Gemini (35%) and Copilot (27%). As AI subscriptions grow, streaming's share of subscription wallet collapsed from 67% in 2023 to just 11% in 2025. Consumers are also using AI heavily for shopping decisions — price comparison (61%), product research (53%), and deal-finding (47%). The shift reflects a broader move from passive subscription accumulation to active, value-driven subscription management. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [AI, crypto and biometrics reshaping how South Africans pay, says Visa](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-crypto-and-biometrics-reshaping-how-south-africans-pay-says-visa-5kwylmitg) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [South Africa leads rest of Africa in AI adoption – Microsoft](https://daily.dev/posts/south-africa-leads-rest-of-africa-in-ai-adoption-microsoft-bfq2f36p5) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Africa’s streaming boom – millions ditch legacy TV for on-demand content](https://daily.dev/posts/africa-s-streaming-boom-millions-ditch-legacy-tv-for-on-demand-content-ty0erau9b) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [South African IT spending surging as AI boom lands locally](https://daily.dev/posts/south-african-it-spending-surging-as-ai-boom-lands-locally-yramcigwq) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [What ordinary South Africans really think of AI](https://daily.dev/posts/what-ordinary-south-africans-really-think-of-ai-uijewptql) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#chatgpt](https://daily.dev/tags/chatgpt) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1"},"datePublished":"2026-04-23T11:01:50.987Z","dateModified":"2026-04-23T11:02:11.306Z","description":"A Discovery and Visa SpendTrend 2026 report reveals that AI subscriptions among upper-middle-class South Africans nearly doubled in 2025, with payment volume...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0e7760a88bc565a428b1162b29488c68?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/0e7760a88bc565a428b1162b29488c68?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCentral","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCentral","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--RsqLDZrL--/f_auto/v1717745297/logos/techcentral","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/middle-class-south-africa-is-ditching-streaming-for-ai-3qzaeo4i1","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"chatgpt","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCentral","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Middle-class South Africa is ditching streaming for AI"}]} ```