Brands Beware - 555 Media’s Zama Warns of LLM-Driven Consumer Shifts #BizTrends2025

Tapelo Zama,digital marketing manager of 555 Media Hub, looks at how LLMs are disrupting the consumer journey in the AI-powered search era and what this means for brands (Image supplied)

Unlike traditional SEO, where brands can target specific keywords, LLM consider context, user intent, and real-time data, leading to unpredictable visibility.

An analysis of 17 retail-related prompts showed that 82% of LLM results surfaced brands, with two to 16 brands mentioned per prompt, but these mentions varied daily, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring.

South African brands face more unpredictability

For South African brands, this unpredictability is compounded by the need to compete in a market with relatively high LLM usage, making adaptation even more critical.

The influence of LLM on digital marketing and online shopping is set to grow as these models become more sophisticated and widely adopted.

Brands that proactively adapt by optimising content for LLM will be better positioned to capture consumer attention in this AI-driven landscape.

The integration of LLM into platforms like X, Facebook, and Chrome suggests a future where AI-mediated interactions dominate online experiences.

To stay ahead, brands must prioritise flexibility, innovation, and a commitment to delivering value through content that resonates with both users and AI systems.

Generative AI in South Africa

Generative AI has come a long way in a relatively short space of time.

We saw Openai’s Chatgpt skyrocket to 100 million users in only two months in 2023, a feat that took Facebook over four years to accomplish, and 10 years for Spotify.

Chances are, you use LLM at least once a day.

Put simply, LLM are AI programmes that use machine learning to process and generate language. You might even have an LLM app or two on your phone.

According to recent data, Chatgpt is by far the most popular of these LLM in the country, with significant usage across both iOS and Android platforms.

In April 2025, SimilarWeb app popularity rankings indicate that Chatgpt was the most downloaded app for iPhone users in South Africa, beating out competitors like Temu and WhatsApp.

On Android, it ranked 21st overall but remained the most popular generative AI app, with more local users on the platform than on iOS, suggesting a broad user base across device types.

Implications for online buyer behaviour

LLM like Chatgpt are reshaping how consumers interact with digital content, particularly in online shopping and product discovery.

These models provide direct, conversational answers to user queries, often bypassing traditional search engine results pages.

This shift to "zero-click" results means users receive recommendations without visiting brand websites, as evidenced by features like Perplexity’s one-click shopping, introduced in November 2024, which integrates purchases within the platform.

For instance, a user asking Chatgpt for "best running shoes" might receive a list of brands directly, influencing buying decisions without further clicks.

This behaviour is particularly significant in South Africa, where Chatgpt's high adoption rates suggest many consumers rely on it for processing information, much like search engines like Google helped to streamline the internet into bite-sized chunks.

The integration of LLM into everyday platforms, such as Apple Intelligence (Siri with Chatgpt), X (Grok), Meta apps (Instagram and Facebook with Llama), and Google Chrome (Gemini), further amplifies their influence on modern consumers.

This means that brands will need to ensure their presence in LLM responses to capture audiences at zero-click touchpoints, especially as Gartner predicts a 50% loss in search traffic over the next three years due to the proliferation of LLM.

A pivotal moment for digital marketing

The rise of LLM marks a pivotal moment for digital marketing.

It will call upon brands to move beyond traditional SEO tactics to focus on strategies that ensure they are mentioned and recommended by LLM.

By embracing natural language approaches, optimising for semantic and conversational search, leveraging AI tools, and continuously adapting to performance data, brands can enhance their visibility and influence in the online marketplace.