Executives and analysts divided over true impact of AI in cyber

New research from Exabeam reveals notable disparities between how executives and analysts perceive the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity operations.

The report, entitled "From Hype to Help: How AI Is (Really) Transforming Cybersecurity in 2025," is based on a survey conducted by Sapio Research of 1,000 cybersecurity professionals worldwide. It found widespread adoption of AI, but significant differences in reported productivity gains, trust in AI autonomy, and the structure of cybersecurity teams.

One of the findings highlighted is the pronounced divide between executives and analysts regarding AI's impact on productivity. While 71% of executives believe AI usage has greatly increased productivity across security teams, only 22% of analysts share this view. Analysts, as the group most directly engaged with AI tools daily, reported that the technology has not necessarily reduced their manual workloads, sometimes simply transforming the nature of their tasks rather than alleviating them.

The report stated, "This perception gap reveals more than a difference in opinion; it underscores a deeper issue with operational effectiveness and trust. Executives often focus on AI's potential to reduce costs, streamline operations, and enhance strategy. But analysts on the front lines report a very different experience — one shaped by false positives, increased alert fatigue, and the ongoing need for human oversight."

Steve Wilson, Chief AI and Product Officer at Exabeam, commented on these findings, saying: "There's no shortage of AI hype in cybersecurity — but ask the people actually using the tools, and the story falls apart. Analysts are stuck managing tools that promise autonomy but constantly need tuning and supervision. Agentic AI flips that script — it doesn't wait for instructions, it takes action, cuts through the noise, and moves investigations forward without dragging teams down."

Despite these challenges, the report identifies certain areas where AI is having a positive impact. Most notably, 56% of security teams report improved productivity in threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR) due to AI. In these areas, AI is credited with easing the burden of repetitive analysis, lessening alert fatigue, and speeding up time to insight. The deployment of AI-driven tools is also associated with better anomaly detection, reduced mean time to detect (MTTD), and enhanced user behaviour analytics.

However, trust in AI acting autonomously remains low. Across all teams, only 29% express confidence in AI's ability to act independently, with just 10% of analysts trusting AI to operate without human intervention. The report notes: "The industry is aligned on one thing: performance precedes trust. In security operations, organizations aren't looking to hand over the reins — they're counting on AI to exceed the limits of the human mind at scale. By consistently delivering accurate outcomes and automating tedious workflows, AI can become a force multiplier for analysts, enabling faster, smarter threat detection and response."

The adoption of AI is leading to structural changes within cybersecurity teams. More than half of surveyed organisations have restructured their teams as a result of implementing AI. Workforce reductions linked to automation were reported by 37% of respondents, but 18% of organisations are increasing recruitment in areas focused on AI governance, automation oversight, and data protection. This shift outlines an emerging operational model in which agentic AI supports deeper investigations, faster decision-making, and allocates more complex work to human analysts.

Regional differences in AI adoption and perceived productivity gains are also noted in the report. The highest productivity improvements were observed in India, the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, with 81% of organisations in these regions reporting significant gains. The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe followed at 60%, with the Asia Pacific and Japan region at 46%. North America showed the lowest reported gains, with only 44% of organisations in the region citing improved productivity as a result of AI adoption.

The report addresses the challenge of aligning leadership strategies with operational realities as AI tools become further embedded in cybersecurity practice. It suggests that successful organisations are those that engage analysts in deployment decisions and align AI capabilities closely with frontline requirements, with a focus on measurable outcomes rather than hype.

The survey data reflects responses from cybersecurity professionals representing a range of job functions, industries, and organisation sizes. The definition of AI was intentionally left open to accommodate the variety of technologies currently in use in the cybersecurity sector, such as machine learning, generative AI, and agentic systems.