Security teams use artificial intelligence (AI) to sift through huge volumes of telemetry, spot activity that deserves attention, and make investigations more efficient. At the same time, cybercriminals are experimenting with many of the same technologies to improve phishing campaigns, automate fraud, and increase the scale of their operations. That creates a lot of confusion. Some headlines portray AI as the future of cybersecurity, while others present it as a new source of risk that defenders can’t control. Reality sits somewhere in the middle. AI is neither the enemy nor the answer to every security problem. In fact, according to the ESET SMB Cyber Readiness Index 2026, 73% of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are already integrating AI into their operations, yet 70% acknowledge that AI introduces new security risks. If used responsibly, it’s a tool that can help defenders work more effectively. If it’s used irresponsibly, it can create new risks. Those organizations that are seeing the most value from AI aren’t trying to replace security professionals; they are instead using AI to help skilled practitioners make better decisions in less time. Key points of this article: - AI helps security teams detect threats, prioritize alerts, analyze complex activity, and respond faster, but it works best when combined with human input. - Attackers are using AI to improve phishing, social engineering, fraud, and attack automation, making familiar threats more scalable and convincing. - AI also introduces new security challenges, like shadow AI, data leakage, adversarial manipulation, and governance risks that organizations must actively manage. - Still, familiar weaknesses such as phishing, weak passwords, unpatched systems, and poor monitoring remain major causes of incidents. - The future of cybersecurity is human expertise amplified by AI, supported by strong security fundamentals and responsible governance. What is AI in cybersecurity? AI