Arctic Wolf has published new insights from its latest report, ‘Navigating the Human-AI Relationship for Security Operations Success’.
Conducted in partnership with Sapio Research, the study surveyed nearly 2,000 IT and security decision-makers worldwide and found that an overwhelming 99% of respondents expect AI to influence their cybersecurity purchasing or renewal decisions within the next year.
Today’s security teams grapple with a relentless influx of alerts generated from disparate tools and disconnected data sources. With limited staffing and resources, they are often forced to make rapid, high-stakes decisions about which threats to investigate, frequently leaving more dangerous threats unnoticed amid the noise. This cycle results in analyst burnout, slower response times, and increased vulnerability to cyber threats.
This mounting pressure is driving organisations to view AI not merely as a support tool but as a critical partner in cybersecurity. Companies are increasingly leveraging AI for advanced threat detection, using large language models to guide investigations and provide contextual insights, and automating repetitive workflows to improve efficiency. When combined with human oversight, these AI capabilities can help cut through the alert overload, reduce fatigue, speed up investigations, and enable security teams to focus on the most significant threats.
Key findings from the report reveal that AI has become a fundamental element of cybersecurity strategies. An impressive 99% of organisations say AI capabilities will influence their security investments or renewal decisions over the coming year, with nearly 40% already allocating budgets specifically for AI-powered solutions. Adoption of AI is widespread, with 73% of organisations integrating AI into their cybersecurity framework. The United States and the financial services sector are leading the adoption at 82%, while more risk-averse sectors such as utilities and regions like the Nordics are progressing more cautiously, at 59%.
Automation is transforming security operations, with 73% of organisations planning to use AI for round-the-clock security automation, 72% aiming to enhance threat prediction and prevention, and 70% seeking to improve detection capabilities. Despite these advancements, human oversight remains vital, with over two-thirds of respondents emphasising the need for significant human input. More than half (52%) plan to upskill their teams to better manage AI tools, and 46% foresee analysts shifting towards validating AI-generated alerts.
However, challenges persist. A third of respondents identified data privacy as the primary obstacle to AI adoption, followed by concerns over costs (30%) and the inability of AI solutions to fully meet organisational needs (28%).
“Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern cybersecurity, but it benefits immensely from human expertise to be truly effective. The insights from this report provide leaders with the data they need to make smart, targeted investments — deploying AI where it can deliver measurable results, streamline alert management, and help security teams operate with greater speed, accuracy, and confidence,” said Dan Schiappa, President of Technology and Services at Arctic Wolf.
