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AI Cyber Compare

Decision guide

Which SOC operating model fits your team: AI SOC analyst, SOAR, MDR or SIEM copilot?

The short answer

Start from two facts about your team: how many people can own decisions, and whether alerts go unread today. Few people and unread alerts point to an AI SOC analyst or MDR; enough people and fixed responses point to SOAR; a team that keeps up points to a copilot. Most teams end up with two models side by side, such as SOAR for fixed responses and an AI SOC analyst for the long tail.

By The Triage Desk · AI Cyber Compare · Published 2026-10-08

Desk research from public vendor pages: vendor facts read September 2026, updated 2026-10-13. Editorial reading of what vendors publish; we did not run the products and did not interview vendors.

What does each model change about who does the work?

ModelWhat you buyWho decidesStrip
AI SOC analystSoftware. Your team stays accountable for the queue; the platform does the first pass on every alert.The agent reaches a verdict with evidence. Your team decides how far it may act alone: suggest, act after approval, or act on trusted categories.
Work strip for AI SOC analyst: Triage, AI agent; Investigate, AI agent; Respond, shared; Tune, shared; Nights and weekends, AI agent.TriageAI agentInvestigateAI agentRespondSharedTuneSharedNights and weekendsAI agent
SOARSoftware plus the ongoing work of writing and maintaining playbooks.The playbook author decides in advance. At run time the engine follows the logic, and people handle what the logic does not cover.
Work strip for SOAR: Triage, rules you write; Investigate, shared; Respond, rules you write; Tune, your analysts; Nights and weekends, rules you write.TriageRules you writeInvestigateSharedRespondRules you writeTuneYour analystsNights and weekendsRules you write
MDRPeople and process from a provider, delivered on a contract, usually with the provider's tooling or access to yours.The provider's analysts work the queue. The contract sets which actions they may take and which they escalate to you.
Work strip for MDR: Triage, provider's analysts; Investigate, provider's analysts; Respond, shared; Tune, provider's analysts; Nights and weekends, provider's analysts.TriageProvider's analystsInvestigateProvider's analystsRespondSharedTuneProvider's analystsNights and weekendsProvider's analysts
SIEM copilotUsually a feature or add-on to a SIEM or security suite you already run.Your analyst. The copilot answers when asked; it does not work the queue on its own.
Work strip for SIEM copilot: Triage, your analysts; Investigate, shared; Respond, your analysts; Tune, shared; Nights and weekends, your analysts.TriageYour analystsInvestigateSharedRespondYour analystsTuneSharedNights and weekendsYour analysts
  • Your analysts
  • Rules you write
  • AI agent
  • Provider's analysts
  • Shared
  • Not described

How big is your team, and who owns decisions?

A model is only as good as the people who own its decisions. With no dedicated analysts, software that proposes actions has nobody to approve them, which is why MDR is the usual answer. With one to twenty analysts, an AI SOC analyst platform can take the first pass on every alert while people approve the actions that matter. Large teams can afford to write and maintain playbooks, and often already have a SOAR worth keeping.

Are alerts going unread?

A copilot makes an analyst faster on the alert in front of them. It does not read the alerts nobody opens. If alerts are closed without a look, you need something that works the queue on its own: an AI SOC analyst platform, playbooks for the predictable part, or a provider's analysts.

What do you already run?

Many working playbooks are an asset, not a sunk cost. If you depend on them, look at products that keep them or translate them: Mate Security, 7AI, Cortex XSOAR, Dropzone AI, Intezer, Splunk SOAR and Vega. If you have a SIEM and no SOAR, you can start agent-first and keep deterministic steps for the few fixed responses. With no SIEM yet, a provider that brings its own tooling removes a project.

How far should software act alone?

There are three common settings: software suggests and people act; software acts after a person approves; software acts alone on trusted, low-risk categories. Vendors that document approval or sign-off before actions: Mate Security, 7AI, Artemis Security, Conifers CognitiveSOC, Cortex XSOAR, Exaforce, Prophet Security, Splunk SOAR and Tines. Vendors that document acting alone on some cases: Mate Security, 7AI, Artemis Security, Conifers CognitiveSOC, Cortex XSOAR, Exaforce, Intezer, Prophet Security, Splunk SOAR, Tines and Torq AI SOC Platform. Whatever you choose, ask how autonomy is pulled back when verdicts go wrong.

In-house or outsourced?

Outsourcing buys hours and people; in-house keeps the knowledge of your environment. Between the two sit vendors that sell software with an optional service where their own people work the queue:

  • 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.

Teams that run an MSSP, or buy from one, should look at multi-tenant offerings: Conifers CognitiveSOC and Dropzone AI.

Can you combine models?

Yes, and most teams do. Common pairs: SOAR for fixed, audited responses with an AI SOC analyst for investigation; an AI SOC analyst by day with a provider for nights; a SIEM copilot for analysts plus playbooks for the predictable alerts. The pair pages compare the models two at a time.

What should you ask any vendor before buying?

  1. Which of our alert sources are supported today, by name?
  2. What happens to our existing playbooks?
  3. Which actions can run without approval, and who sets that?
  4. Who works the queue at night?
  5. What does a verdict record show, step by step?
  6. What is the pricing unit, and what makes the bill grow?
  7. Where is our data processed and stored?

Answer five questions and see the models in the order your answers produce.

Take the fit finder

Asked often about this page

Can one product cover more than one model?

Yes. In our profiles, Torq pairs agents with a workflow engine, Prophet Security and 7AI offer optional services where their people work the queue, and Cortex XSOAR adds agents inside the SOAR. The vendor table marks these as additional models.

Do I need a SIEM before an AI SOC analyst platform?

Not always, but the platform needs alert sources to read, and most connect to a SIEM, EDR, identity and email tools. Check that the vendor supports your sources by name.

When is staying with SOAR the right call?

When your playbooks work, your alert volume is manageable and your responses are fixed and audited. Adding AI inside the SOAR, as Cortex XSOAR does with AgentiX, avoids a migration.

Read next

Fit finderFive questions, all four models in your order.Fact tableEvery published fact for thirteen vendors.How we profileSources, flags and the point table.