As interest in AI for cybersecurity skyrockets, security teams face a critical question: Is AI helping — or just hyped?
To explore this, Exabeam partnered with Sapio Research to conduct a global survey of 1,000 cybersecurity professionals across North America (NA), the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe (UKIE), India, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (IMETA), Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) — from SOC analysts and engineers to CISOs and executives driving security strategy. Our objective was simple: Cut through the noise and uncover the real-world impact of AI-powered cybersecurity tools.
What we found challenges conventional thinking and points to a future shaped by agentic AI.
Security Teams Are Still Drowning in Alerts, Not Acting on Intelligence
The most striking insight from the data was the growing divide between security leadership and frontline analysts.
- 71% of executives say AI has significantly improved their team’s productivity.
- But only 22% of analysts — those closest to the tools — agree.
This gap is more than a difference in opinion. It reflects two fundamentally different experiences. Executives see AI as a strategic accelerator; analysts see it as one more thing to manage.
Many of those working hands-on with AI-powered tools cited hallucinations, false positives, and increased complexity as common pain points. Rather than reducing the workload burdening security teams, AI in many cases has reshaped it without easing it.
One of the most talked-about findings from the survey is around trust — or the lack of it.
- Only 29% of security teams trust AI to act independently.
- Among analysts, that number drops to just 10%.
The goal of AI in security operations isn’t blind trust — it’s to exceed the limits of the human mind at scale. AI needs to deliver consistent, reliable outcomes while relieving analysts of fatigue and monotonous tasks. It should act as a catalyst in accelerating threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR), reducing noise, and enabling smarter response workflows. The future of AI should tangibly empower security teams to focus on the work that requires human intuition and creativity without introducing new risks.
In short: trust will follow when AI in cybersecurity delivers real value.
Instead of chasing autonomy for autonomy’s sake, security teams around the globe are desperate for performance. Security leaders need to start asking — Does this tool make my team more effective today?
The Limitations of AI Today — It’s Passive
To date, most of what’s been labeled as “generative AI” in cybersecurity tools is reactive by design. It waits for a prompt. It follows a workflow. It spots patterns but rarely offers meaningful suggestions.
The AI in cybersecurity today is a slightly smarter assistant. In a security environment where every second counts, that model doesn’t scale. What teams need now is something more profound than productivity dashboards or anomaly scores. Security teams need AI that thinks and acts on its own — with clarity, accuracy, and context.
If current AI tools are helpful, but not transformative, what comes next?
The Future is Agentic AI
Our view, shaped by the data and conversations behind this report, is that the next wave of innovation must focus on operational impact, not theoretical potential.
That’s where agentic AI starts to emerge, not as a buzzword, but as a reflection of what teams are asking for. Agentic AI is proactive. It doesn’t just process data — it investigates. It doesn’t wait — it acts. And most importantly, it doesn’t aim to replace humans, but to operate as a true partner in the threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR) workflow.
AI delivers the most value to security teams when it goes beyond chatbots and copilots – automating high-effort, low-complexity tasks like detection analysis, threat classification, and case summarization. The best AI doesn’t assist – it acts. Exabeam Nova is one example of agentic AI in action, empowering analysts with faster investigation, advanced threat hunting, and more strategic security initiatives.
Rethink What’s Possible with AI in Cybersecurity
This research isn’t just a snapshot — it’s a call to action for the security leaders. If you’re exploring how to leverage AI for threat detection, AI for SOC efficiency, or agentic AI for proactive cybersecurity, now is the time to assess your approach.
Ask your team:
- Are our AI security tools adding clarity — or noise?
- Does AI complement my workflow or disrupt it?
- Are we set up to take advantage of the next wave of AI-driven cybersecurity tools?
For some, this might mean re-evaluating toolsets. For others, it might mean shifting the role AI plays in the workflow. But for all of us, it means asking more from the technology —and giving security analysts the support they need to put it to work.
Download the Report
Discover what 1,000 security professionals revealed about the promise, the pitfalls, and the path forward for AI in cybersecurity. From Hype to Help: How AI is (Really) Transforming Cybersecurity in 2025
