Kaspersky’s recent survey in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region shows that AI is becoming part of consumers’ everyday lives – and users are increasingly turning to AI services for personal matters, raising new privacy and cybersecurity concerns.
Almost 75% of respondents from South Africa said they use AI services, such as smart chatbots and image and video generation tools. They most often turn to AI to search for and summarise information (74%) and to write texts (49%). Other popular use cases include generating images from text descriptions or prompts (39%), editing or transforming users’ own photos (36%), and creating videos (26%).
The survey findings confirm that AI has become not only a tool for assisting with tasks, but also a source of advice on increasingly personal matters. Respondents from South Africa rely on AI for a range of everyday needs and practical recommendations, including health-related questions (29%), planning spare time – a weekend, vacation or party (25%), and preparing meal plans (17%). Asking for advice on other personal issues was mentioned by 34% of survey participants.
Kaspersky’s experts warn that these interactions may involve personal information, potentially creating privacy and security risks if such data is exposed, misused by third parties or accessed by cybercriminals.
Another concern relates to users’ trust in the reliability of AI-generated information. Nearly one in ten respondents from South Africa have already encountered incorrect information generated by AI, while 24% believe that AI can provide inaccurate answers. Such findings underline the importance of treating AI-generated responses critically and avoiding the disclosure of sensitive information.
“Users should be aware of the limitations and potential risks associated with AI services. Even widely used AI platforms may contain vulnerabilities that could lead to data exposure, while information shared with these platforms may be processed or accessed by third parties depending on the service and its policies. It is therefore important to develop digital habits such as verifying information, handling personal data with caution and critically assessing AI-generated responses. Users should also be aware that cybercriminals increasingly use fake AI agents and services as a lure to distribute malware, sometimes disguising malicious tools as well-known AI resources,” said Seifallah Jedidi, Head of Consumer Channel in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa at Kaspersky.
To minimise cybersecurity risks when using AI, Kaspersky’s experts recommend:
- Do not share sensitive or confidential information with AI services. Avoid uploading documents, private correspondence, passwords, payment details and health information.
- Check how an AI service handles your data before using it. Review what information the service collects and how it may be processed, stored or otherwise used.
- Verify AI-generated information through reliable sources. This is particularly important for education, financial, legal and medical topics, as inaccurate responses in these areas can have serious consequences.
- Be alert to fake AI services and AI-themed scams. Phishing pages, malicious software and fraudulent websites may imitate legitimate AI platforms or promote fake AI tools. Comprehensive security solutions such as Kaspersky Premium use AI-powered technologies to protect users in everyday scenarios.
The survey was conducted at the request of Kaspersky in 2026. The study sample included 5000 interviews in 5 countries: the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkiye, South Africa.
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