One survey’s data highlights how agentic AI is positioned as both a risk and a remedy in respondents’ IT security discussions.

Based on a survey of 2,138 IT decision makers (588 from the Asia Pacific region) specializing in security, privacy or compliance from around the world* on their perceptions of the prevailing state of AI use in Information Technology, some findings focused on agentic AI were shared with the media.

First, … 79% of respondents leaders cited a belief that their security practices must transform as AI use increases, and 75% indicated beliefs that AI-driven cyber threats could soon outpace traditional defenses.

Second, 100% of respondents cited beliefs that AI agents can improve at least one security concern, and 80% believed AI agents will introduce new security opportunities; 79% indicated their belief that AI agents will introduce new security and compliance challenges.

Other findings
Third, 47% of security leaders indicated they were fully confident that they can deploy AI agents in full compliance with relevant regulations and standards, and 45% are fully confident they can deploy AI agents with the right guardrails. Also:

  • 68% of security leaders indicated their sentiment that compliance has become more difficult amid evolving regulations
  • 43% of security leaders cited not feeling prepared for potential regulatory changes around AI
  • 85% of respondents’ organizations were cited as following a DevSecOps model; those with DevSecOps indicated they were more likely to have security and governance protocols designed for AI (75% vs. 66%)
  • 45% of respondents had indicated they currently use agentic AI, 62% expected to use it within two years
  • 70% of respondents cited concerns about the accuracy and explainability of their AI outputs, and 43% cited they were fully confident in the explainability of their AI outputs
  • 81% of respondents’ organizations citing believing that they customers understand how their information can be used in AI systems; 77% believed customers know when they are interacting with AI versus a person
  • 64% of security leaders cited believing customers were hesitant to adopt AI services due to security or privacy concerns

According to Gavin Barfield, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (Solutions, ASEAN), Salesforce, the firm that commissioned the survey: “IT teams that establish strong data governance frameworks will find themselves uniquely positioned to harness AI agents for their security operations all while ensuring data protection and compliance standards are met.”

*across Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and United States in technology, manufacturing, retail, financial services, healthcare, government/public sector, and other industries.Respondents included C-level executives (12%), vice presidents or equivalent (35%), and directors or equivalent (53%). The double-anonymous survey was heled between 24 Dec 2024 and 3 Feb 2025.