Threat Intelligence

AI Is Now a Daily Tool for Nearly Half of Security Teams, New Report Finds

The Hacker News · 27 Aug 2026

Key Takeaway SMBs should start exploring AI-assisted security tools now, as they can help smaller teams detect and respond to threats faster without needing a large in-house security staff.

Artificial intelligence has moved from experimental technology to a core part of everyday security work, according to Prophet Security's State of AI in Security Operations 2026 report, based on a survey of more than 250 cybersecurity professionals. The findings show 40% of security teams now use AI tools daily, while a further 56% are actively trialling them. Only 4% of organisations surveyed said they have no plans to adopt AI at all.

The report highlights that AI adoption is no longer limited to large enterprises with dedicated security operations centres. As tools become more accessible and affordable, smaller organisations are increasingly able to use AI to help detect threats, sort through alerts, and speed up incident response - tasks that traditionally required significant manual effort and specialist staff.

For small and medium businesses, this shift matters. Many SMBs lack the resources to run a 24/7 security team, and AI-powered tools can help close that gap by automating routine monitoring and flagging suspicious activity faster than manual processes allow. As adoption grows industry-wide, businesses that delay evaluating these tools may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to competitors already benefiting from faster threat detection.

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Summarised by CISO AI from The Hacker News. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.