The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on cybersecurity operations is becoming increasingly important as AI continues to evolve for enterprise use. While it’s well documented how attackers are using AI for their nefarious activities, Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are seeing a surge in AI-powered tools aimed at detecting threats, automating responses, and streamlining incident management. This raises a pressing question: Is this the year AI will replace human SOC analysts?
Is the AI SOC Agent a Job Stealer or Partner for Humans?
An AI SOC agent isn’t a sci-fi replacement for humans. It’s a machine learning-powered tool that triages alerts, investigates incidents, frees up humans from mundane tasks, and responds to threats like a tireless junior analyst working around the clock at machine speed. It operates under human control.
While powerful and offering important advantages, AI SOC agents are still limited when it comes to human-driven behavior. Some use case examples of what AI does excel at include automating Tier-1 tasks, for example screening 92% of alerts for human analysts, and reducing false positives by 60–80%. AI can also significantly accelerate response times, typically resolving routine cases in 3 minutes vs. 20+ minutes for manual human intervention. AI also learns from feedback and adapts to human analysts’ decisions, all the while refining accuracy over time.
AI SOC Agents Superpower Human SOC Analysts
The most effective model for the AI SOC is a hybrid human-AI model. Gartner agrees. Its industry analysts predict that 75% of SOCs will deploy AI agents by 2026. But it’s not a question of humans or machines – the future is humans empowered by machines.
Not only does the AI SOC make analysts more powerful and better at their jobs, but the SOC of the future has the opportunity to create even more SOC positions. For example, AI trainers are needed to help the AI tools learn and fine-tune models to reduce false positives. In addition, incident commanders will be employed in future SOCs to lead breach response with AI-generated playbooks. And new positions will open for threat hunters who using AI will proactively search for adversaries in cloud and IoT environments.
Myths About AI SOC Agents and Analysts
While AI and humans are not an OR but an AND opportunity, it’s important to address some myths about the buzzword AI.
Myth 1: “AI Will Eliminate Entry-Level Jobs” – Actually, AI creates higher-value roles. Analysts shift from alert janitors to cyber investigators, with salaries rising 22% for AI-savvy pros (ISC²).
Myth 2: “AI Operates Autonomously” – In reality, due to the complex landscape of AI, it is critical to know the essential role of human oversight. Especially as advanced algorithms and machine learning models continue to evolve and flood the enterprise, human guidance becomes crucial to ensure that AI systems operate safely, ethically, and effectively. This oversight helps mitigate risks and enhances the decision-making processes that shape our interactions with technology, creating better outcomes for the SOC.
Myth 3: “AI Cannot Understand Business Context” – Only partially true. AI doesn’t know your business context on its own, just like a new employee doesn’t know the business context…yet. The humans who supervise the AI are the ones who know if a server outage affects $10M in sales or just the office’s local machine. But if they pass that knowledge to the AI, the AI can apply that learning at scale.
How to Implement AI in SOC
As organizations continue to embrace the benefits of SOC AI agents, follow these three best practices to prepare your team for the coming AI era and working with AI for the best outcomes:
- Upskill Strategically – Train analysts in AI model management (e.g., bias detection). It’s important to certify teams in hybrid frameworks like NIST’s AI Risk Management.
- Start Small – It is recommended to deploy AI for non-critical tasks first (e.g., spam filtering). Collecting feedback to audit AI decisions on a regular weekly basis is a good start.
- Measure What Matters – Remember to track escalation rates, and aim for a 50%+ reduction in Tier-1 escalations as your use of AI in the SOC grows. Calculating ROI will help gain executive and organizational sponsorship and support – some AI SOC agents help users save more than $15 million by automating 85% of alerts, depending on the size of the organization.
AI is a Force Multiplier, not a Human Replacement
According to IBM, SOCs that embrace AI Agents this year will reduce breach costs by 40%. AI helps retain talent by significantly reducing burnout rates. And organizations embracing the AI SOC will outpace cybercriminals already known to be using AI for their attacks with AI-driven threat intelligence.
Future-Proof Your SOC Today
AI SOC Agents aren’t a distant fantasy. They are being deployed today to automate alert triage, slash response times, and turn what used to be overworked SOC analysts into cyber superheroes. But while AI offers 24×7 coverage, speed and efficiency, it works best when paired with human analysts – human strategic thinking, specialized judgment, and adaptability remain irreplaceable.
The question isn’t if AI will transform your SOC – it’s how soon will you harness its power.
