The State of AI Cybersecurity 2026 | Chapter 4

how ai is reshaping
cybersecurity tools

There is a place for AI to augment security efforts in almost every area – from visibility and more accurate detection, to noise reduction through automated triage and prioritization, to autonomous response and even advanced forensics after a security incident.

The biggest challenge for defenders is to navigate beyond the buzzwords and work out which AI tools are right for their team, establish how these tools will integrate smoothly into existing workflow, and gain confidence in their ability to find and surface the needle in the haystack.

96% of cybersecurity professionals agree that AI can significantly improve the speed and efficiency with which they work...

...but different roles think differently

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

45%

Strongly agree

51%

Somewhat agree

4%

Somewhat disagree

1%

Strongly disagree

2026

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

50%

Strongly agree

46%

Somewhat agree

4%

Somewhat disagree

1%

Strongly disagree

2025

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

44%

Strongly agree

52%

Somewhat agree

4%

Somewhat disagree

1%

Strongly disagree

2024

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

56%

Strongly agree

42%

Somewhat agree

2%

Somewhat disagree

1%

Strongly disagree

CISOs

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

47%

Strongly agree

50%

Somewhat agree

3%

Somewhat disagree

1%

Strongly disagree

IT Managers

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

30%

Strongly agree

61%

Somewhat agree

10%

Somewhat disagree

0%

Strongly disagree

Security Architects

AI-powered security solutions significantly improve our defensive capabilities

25%

Strongly agree

69%

Somewhat agree

6%

Somewhat disagree

0%

Strongly disagree

Threat Analysts

AI is having the biggest impact in novel threat detection and anomaly spotting

Areas of cybersecurity where AI is having the greatest impact:

Threat detection and anomaly spotting

72%

Automated response and containment

48%

Vulnerability management

47%

Incident investigation and root-cause analysis

45%

Threat intelligence enrichment

39%

Alert triage and prioritization

37%

Cybersecurity awareness training for employees

26%

Analyst productivity

25%

2026

Improving detection of new or unknown threats

57%

Improving threat detection, in general

55%

Autonomously responding to threats

43%

Identifying exploitable vulnerabilities

42%

Accelerating threat investigation

37%

Accelerating remediation and recovery from attacks

32%

Reducing alert volume/fatigue

21%

Phishing and attack simulation

14%

2025

Improving threat detection, in general

57%

Identifying exploitable vulnerabilities

50%

Automating low-level and repetitive security tasks

43%

Accelerating threat investigation and response

42%

Improving detection of new unknown or zero day threats

40%

Providing comprehensive visibility of our digital environment

29%

Accelerating remediation and recovery from attacks

24%

Phishing and attack simulation

15%

2024

Point products vs. platforms

The desire for platform consolidation is stronger than ever

87%

Agree

“When purchasing new security capabilities, my organization prefers ones that are part of a broader platform over individual point products”

93%

Agree

“When purchasing new security capabilities, my organization prefers ones that are part of a broader platform over individual point products”

2025

87%

2026

93%

Adding AI-powered tools to the security stack is the #1 priority in 2026...

...with a rising emphasis on cybersecurity awareness training

Another question we’ve asked over the last three years is effectively: what’s top of mind? What are your priorities? Here, answers have remained fairly consistent, except for a rising emphasis on improving cyber security awareness training.

‍

For SecOps team members, improving security awareness training is now tied for first place with optimizing processes and technologies in the SOC
Security awareness training was the top priority among participants working for government entities

What are your organization’stop priorities over the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

65%

64%

59%

Improve integration among current security solutions

57%

50%

48%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

56%

45%

47%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

52%

40%

42%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

45%

35%

37%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

26%

29%

25%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

31%

27%

31%

Increase cyber security staff

12%

11%

2026

2025

2024

Full Audience

What are your organization’stop prioritiesover the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

68%

Improve integration among current security solutions

59%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

49%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

46%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

51%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

29%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

27%

Increase cyber security staff

15%

Very large enterprises (<25k)

What are your organization’stop prioritiesover the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

59%

Improve integration among current security solutions

54%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

57%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

54%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

51%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

26%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

32%

Increase cyber security staff

12%

Large enterprises (10k-25k)

What are your organization’stop prioritiesover the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

56%

Improve integration among current security solutions

55%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

55%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

54%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

42%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

30%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

34%

Increase cyber security staff

10%

Medium enterprises (5k-10k)

What are your organization’stop prioritiesover the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

69%

Improve integration among current security solutions

57%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

59%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

51%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

43%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

25%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

31%

Increase cyber security staff

11%

Smaller enterprises (1k-5k)

What are your organization’stop prioritiesover the next 12 months for improving your ability to defend against AI-powered threats and attacks?

Add AI-powered security tools to supplement existing solutions

65%

Improve integration among current security solutions

58%

Improve cyber readiness to prepare for potential incidents

51%

Enhance and optimize technology and processes in the SOC

53%

Improve cyber security awareness training for end users

47%

Replace traditional, non-AI powered security solutions

21%

Consolidate the organization’s security stack

29%

Increase cyber security staff

13%

SMBs (>1k)

Secure your AI.  Secure your enterprise.

The defenders have spoken. The proliferation of AI across every aspect of the digital enterprise has created urgent challenges, and appetite for integrated, accurate, and reliable cybersecurity platforms has never been higher.

‍

This has created an influx of vendors seeking to fill the void, hurriedly bolting AI on top of their products and marketing, and filling the landscape with noise.

‍

Darktrace has been pioneering AI for more than a decade, protecting over 10,000 customers from novel and targeted threats across the full enterprise.

Learn more