AI SOC analyst
AI SOC analyst platform
Software agents that triage and investigate alerts the way an analyst would, and in some products take response actions within limits you set.
Decision guide · Vendor facts read September 2026, updated 2026-10-13
AI SOC analyst, SOAR, MDR or SIEM copilot: which model fits your SOC team?
The short answer
Pick the model by who will do the work, not by the product. If your analysts are drowning in alerts they cannot read, an AI SOC analyst platform takes the first pass on every alert. If your responses are fixed and audited, SOAR still fits. If you have no one on shift at night, MDR buys people. If your team keeps up and wants to move faster inside its SIEM, a copilot is enough.
Who carries the alert queue in each model?
SOAR
SOAR playbook engine
Security orchestration, automation and response: a workflow engine that runs playbooks your team writes in advance, across many integrated tools.
MDR
Managed detection and response (MDR)
A service in which a provider's analysts monitor your alerts, investigate them and respond or advise, usually around the clock.
SIEM copilot
SIEM copilot
An AI assistant inside a SIEM or security console that answers questions in plain language, summarizes incidents and drafts queries when an analyst asks.
- Your analysts
- Rules you write
- AI agent
- Provider's analysts
- Shared
- Not described
Our reading of who carries each stage by default. For a product it reflects what the vendor's public pages describe, not how your deployment will be set up.
Which questions decide the model?
- 01
How many people work your alert queue today?
With no analysts, software alone leaves nobody to own decisions; with a large team, writing playbooks is affordable.
- 02
How does your alert volume feel?
Unread alerts point to software that reads every alert; a manageable queue points to speed per alert.
- 03
What do you run today?
Many working playbooks are an asset; a SIEM with no SOAR leaves room to start agent-first.
- 04
How far should software act on its own?
The more you let software act alone, the more the model's guardrails matter.
- 05
Who should do the work?
Outsourcing buys people and hours; in-house keeps the knowledge.
Which vendors did we profile?
| Vendor | Model | Position on SOAR | Integrations published | Pricing published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mate Security | AI SOC analyst | Replaces SOAR | Not published | Not published |
| 7AI | AI SOC analystMDR | Works beside SOAR | Not published | Not published |
| Artemis Security | AI SOC analystSOARMDR | Replaces SOAR | 240+ connectors (Artemis states), including Splunk, Splunk SOAR, Microsoft Sentinel, CrowdStrike NG-SIEM, Snowflake, AWS Athena, BigQuery, Entra ID, Okta, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and Defender XDR. | Not published |
| Conifers CognitiveSOC | AI SOC analyst | Replaces SOAR | 90+ (homepage). A May 2026 release said 60+. | Not published |
| Cortex XSOAR | SOARAI SOC analyst | Adds AI inside SOAR | 900+ prebuilt integrations and automation packs; thousands of security actions in the Marketplace. | Not published |
| Dropzone AI | AI SOC analyst | Works beside SOAR | 90+ across 14 categories, including SOAR tools (Cortex XSOAR, Splunk SOAR, Tines, Torq, D3 Security, IBM QRadar SOAR, Swimlane). | Tiers or unit published |
| Exaforce | AI SOC analystMDR | Replaces SOAR | 130+ across IaaS, SaaS, identity, endpoint, SIEM, SOAR, email, ticketing, threat intel and AI. | Not published |
| Intezer | AI SOC analyst | Works beside SOAR | 100+ | Tiers or unit published |
| Prophet Security | AI SOC analystMDR | Replaces SOAR | 200+ out of the box. | Not published |
| Splunk SOAR | SOARSIEM copilot | Adds AI inside SOAR | 300+ third-party tools and 2,800+ automated actions. | Not published |
| Tines | SOARAI SOC analyst | Replaces SOAR | Not published | Tiers or unit published |
| Torq AI SOC Platform | AI SOC analystSOAR | Replaces SOAR | 300 pre-built integrations and 4,000+ pre-built steps, plus AI-generated integrations. | Not published |
| Vega | AI SOC analystSIEM copilot | Works beside SOAR | Not published | Not published |
What about MDR providers and SIEM copilots?
Five MDR providers and three SIEM copilots now have lighter profiles, built from their own pages read in October 2026. They sit under their models rather than in the fact table, because the 11 capabilities we track were defined for AI SOC and SOAR products. Profiled vendors that reach into those models are listed below.
- 7AI: PLAID ELITE is a service in which 7AI experts run the platform 24x7, which puts it close to the MDR model.
- Artemis Security: Artemis includes an AI-native SOAR builder aimed at teams maintaining a SOAR, and offers an MDR option in which its senior analysts operate the platform 24/7.
- Exaforce: Exaforce can also run the platform for you, with its analysts and Exabots working 24/7, which puts that option in the MDR model.
- Prophet Security: Prophet AI Watchtower is a 24x7x365 human-in-the-loop expert service, which brings the provider's analysts into the loop as in the MDR model.
- Splunk SOAR: Splunk says SOAR is now a native capability of Splunk Enterprise Security, its SIEM, which it describes as integrated with agentic AI. The AI sits on the SIEM side, closest to the copilot model in our source set.
- Vega: Vega positions itself for the post-SIEM era and recommends next actions for analysts to carry out rather than executing them, which puts it near the SIEM copilot model. It does not mention SOAR; any SOAR you run keeps response.
Lighter profiles
- Arctic Wolf Aurora MDR: Arctic Wolf's managed detection and response, with 24x7 monitoring, response actions and a named Concierge team for every customer.
- CrowdStrike Falcon Complete: CrowdStrike's 24/7 managed detection and response service, which it calls agentic MDR.
- Daylight Security: An AI-native managed service in which AI agents and Daylight's senior experts run detection, investigation and response 24/7.
- Expel MDR: Expel's managed detection and response, sold in three packages that all include 24x7 Expel SOC monitoring and access to Expel Workbench.
- Zscaler MDR (formerly Red Canary): Red Canary's MDR, now sold as Zscaler Managed Detection and Response: 24/7 human-led, AI-powered support across identity, endpoint, cloud, email and network.
- CrowdStrike Charlotte AI: CrowdStrike's AI for the SOC, which it describes as agentic: it "reasons, decides, and acts at machine speed" across domains.
- Google Security Operations with Gemini: Google's security operations platform, unifying SIEM, SOAR and threat intelligence, with Gemini for natural-language search, investigation chat, case summaries and response recommendations.
- Microsoft Security Copilot: Microsoft's generative AI assistant for security, available as a standalone experience or embedded in Microsoft Security products, priced in security compute units (SCUs).
What does this site claim, and what not?
We describe what vendors publish and organize it around the choice of model. We do not score or rank vendors, we did not run the products, and every vendor figure is quoted with its source and labelled as the vendor's own.
What is new from The Triage Desk?
28 Sep 2026 · 5 min readAI SOC Vendor Moves in 2026, Sorted by Which SOC Model They ChangeNewsModelsEighteen dated announcements from January to August 2026, sorted by the operating model they push toward: agents, playbooks, managed people or analyst assistance.30 Sep 2026 · 4 min readWhat Thirteen SOC Vendors Leave Unpublished: A Count of Not DescribedDataBuyingWe tracked eleven capabilities across thirteen AI SOC and SOAR vendors. Which ones almost everyone documents, which almost nobody does, and what to ask about the gaps.2 Oct 2026 · 4 min readThree Ways a Small SOC Can Cover the Night Shift in 2026StaffingModelsA small security team cannot staff nights. Three ways to cover them: agents with a tight action catalog, a vendor's managed option, or an MDR provider, and how each fails.
Asked often about this page
What is the difference between an AI SOC analyst and SOAR?
SOAR runs playbooks that people write in advance, so it handles the cases someone predicted. An AI SOC analyst platform investigates each alert at run time and reaches a verdict with evidence, so it reaches the long tail that playbooks miss. Several products now mix both.
Is MDR better than an AI SOC platform?
Neither is better in general. MDR buys analysts and hours from a provider; an AI SOC platform is software your own team runs. Teams with no one on shift at night often need the people; teams with analysts who want to keep knowledge in-house often prefer the software.
Is a SIEM copilot the same as an AI SOC analyst?
No. A copilot answers when an analyst asks. An AI SOC analyst platform picks up alerts from the queue and works them without being asked. The difference shows at night and in a backlog.
Which model does the fit finder recommend most often?
None by design. The finder adds published points for each answer and shows all four models in the order your answers produce, with the reasons. The point table is on How we profile.