Voice of Security 2026: AI is everywhere yet manual work persists

AI adoption in security has increased significantly, yet many security teams continue to face high manual workloads and burnout, as reported by a survey of over 1,800 security leaders and practitioners for the Voice of Security 2026 report. While AI's potential is promising, foundational gaps hinder its full impact, and despite increased board-level attention, alignment between security priorities and business objectives remains challenging. AI governance is becoming essential, with many organizations implementing formalized AI policies to tackle anticipated future threats. Security professionals report high workloads, with 81% experiencing increased demands over the past year, leading to burnout due to manual tasks that could be automated. Despite these challenges, 86% of respondents are optimistic about AI's impact on their careers, with AI literacy and prompt engineering seen as crucial skills for the future. Intelligent workflows are identified as a key missing component, with 92% of security professionals valuing their potential to enhance productivity and compliance, indicating a shift towards AI-driven, cloud-native, and compliance-first security practices.