Tines Report Finds Widespread Use of AI in Security Operations, But Manual Work Persists

Survey reveals security teams continue to spend nearly half their time on work that could be automated, with compliance concerns and resource constraints as key barriers

BOSTON and DUBLIN, Jan. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tines, the intelligent workflow platform used by the world's most advanced security and IT teams, today published Voice of Security 2026, the fourth annual report from the company that evaluates the state of security across a number of organizations worldwide. This year's report specifically examines how AI and automation are reshaping security operations. Based on a global survey of more than 1,800 security leaders and practitioners, the report finds that nearly all (99%) of security operations centers use AI, and 77% of security teams regularly rely on AI, automation or workflow tools. Yet manual or repetitive work still consumes roughly half (44%) of security teams' time, contributing to emotional exhaustion and fatigue for three-quarters (76%) of respondents.

The report also highlights significant obstacles to scaling AI and automation for meaningful returns. Key factors include security and compliance concerns (35%), limited resources (32%) and integration gaps between tools (31%). These limitations help explain why nearly all (92%) of security professionals believe that intelligent workflows, which unite automation, AI and humans to move work smoothly across systems and people, would add value to their organizations.

"The signal is clear: AI alone won't fix broken security operations. Teams see its enormous potential for time savings and morale gains, but without strong governance and well-designed workflows, that potential remains out of reach," said Thomas Kinsella, co-founder and chief customer officer at Tines. "Our research shows that real relief comes when organizations pair AI adoption with clear guardrails and intelligent workflows, redesigning how security work actually gets done."

Security Teams Are Confident About AI's Impact and Its Growing Risk

Security teams report gains from AI across several core functions, with threat detection (61%), identity and access monitoring (56%) and compliance and policy writing (55%) being the most frequently cited as highly effective use cases. However, these gains have largely been applied at the task level and have not yet translated into broad changes in overall workloads and processes. Still, looking ahead, confidence in AI's long-term impact is high: 86% of respondents are optimistic that it will create new career opportunities, and 81% say their organizations are prepared to reskill or hire for AI-related roles.

Alongside its benefits, AI has become a defining factor in the risk landscape. The top five cybersecurity concerns heading into 2026 center on, or are being transformed by AI, including data leakage through copilots and agents (22%), third-party and supply chain risks (21%), evolving regulations (20%), shadow AI (18%) and prompt injection attacks (18%).

"That gap is also shaping where risk is emerging," continued Kinsella. "Many of the most significant AI-related security concerns identified in this year's report are tied to internal usage, bringing governance and oversight into sharper focus as adoption expands."

Other key findings from the Voice of Security 2026 report include:

• 81% of respondents said their workloads increased in the past year, up from 72% in the Voice of Security 2025 report;
• Half of organizations have formal, active AI policies in place, with another 42% actively developing governance frameworks; and
• The top three advantages security teams anticipate from intelligent workflows include higher productivity (48%), faster response times (41%) and better data accuracy (40%)

For more information and to access the full report, visit the Tines website. To delve deeper into insights gathered in the report, register to join Kinsella and Sam Harris, Senior Director of Managed Services, Stratascale, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 10:00 am EST for a live discussion.

Research Methodology 
Tines surveyed 1,813 IT security and cybersecurity professionals from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, representing organizations ranging from 250 to over 10,000 employees. The survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Sapio Research, in November 2025.

About Tines
Tines is the intelligent workflow platform trusted by the world's most advanced organizations. Companies like Coinbase, Databricks, Mars, and Reddit, SAP use Tines to power their most important workflows. With Tines, they've built a secure, flexible foundation to operationalize AI agents and intelligent workflows, unlocking productivity, moving faster, and future-proofing how work gets done. Co-headquartered in Dublin and Boston, Tines has raised $272M from investors including Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, Felicis, Addition, Accel, Blossom Capital, and Lux Capital.

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SOURCE TINES SECURITY SERVICES LIMITED