AI is the leading priority for new cybersecurity spending, even as overall budgets remain largely unchanged, according to IANS’s 2026 Security Budget Benchmark Report. The research firm based its findings on interviews with 500 US security executives. AI was cited by 69% of respondents as an area for additional funding, ahead of security operations automation at 51% and identity and access management improvements at 39%. Software is consequently expected to make up 35% of security budgets in 2026, up from 29% in 2025 and close to spending on staff and compensation.
IANS said AI is not expected to reduce cybersecurity employment. Some 69% of chief information security officers said they did not expect to cut existing headcount because of AI, while 81% anticipated demand for new roles and skills. Respondents also reported improved productivity (91%) and the redeployment of staff to higher-value work (79%). Overall, however, median budget growth was flat, with 55% of organisations either holding budgets steady or cutting them amid economic pressure.
Budget growth varied by ownership: 71% of venture-capital-backed companies increased spending, commonly by more than 10%, compared with 52% of publicly listed companies. IANS stressed that human staff remain necessary to identify anomalies, prioritise threats and make judgement calls.