AI in Cybersecurity: Spending Forecast and Risk Trends
Gartner forecasts for worldwide AI cybersecurity spending in 2025-2027, its share of total AI spending, and Stanford AI Index findings on AI incidents.
- Updated October 1, 2026
- 4 min read
- 2 sources
- Global
Executive Summary
Gartner forecasts worldwide AI cybersecurity spending of $51.3 billion in 2026, nearly double the $25.9 billion estimated for 2025, and $86.0 billion in 2027. It is a small share of total AI spending, at about 1.9% in 2026. Stanford's AI Index reports that AI-related incidents are rising sharply while standardised responsible AI evaluations remain rare among major model developers.
Key Numbers
Charts
Gartner September 2026 forecast. 2025 is an estimate; 2026F and 2027F are forecasts.
Overview
This report covers spending on AI used for cybersecurity and the security risks AI creates. Gartner reports AI cybersecurity as a separate market in its AI spending forecast.
Gartner forecasts AI cybersecurity spending of $25.9 billion in 2025, $51.3 billion in 2026 and $86.0 billion in 2027 [1]. That implies growth of about 98.1% in 2026 and 67.5% in 2027 (FREEE.REPORT calculation).
Market Size
AI cybersecurity is one of the smaller AI markets. At $51.3 billion, it equals about 1.9% of the $2,670.5 billion total AI spending Gartner forecasts for 2026 (FREEE.REPORT calculation, inputs from [1]). By comparison, AI infrastructure is forecast at $1,484.4 billion and AI software at $461.6 billion in 2026 [1].
Challenges
Stanford's AI Index 2025 reports that AI-related incidents are rising sharply, yet standardised responsible AI evaluations remain rare among major industrial model developers [2]. It also finds a gap between companies recognising responsible AI risks and taking meaningful action [2]. New benchmarks such as HELM Safety, AIR-Bench and FACTS have been introduced to assess safety and factuality [2].
Methodology
Spending figures are from Gartner's September 2026 AI spending forecast, in millions of US dollars, converted to billions. 2026 and 2027 are forecasts; 2025 is an estimate.
FREEE.REPORT calculations: growth 2026 = $51,347 million / $25,920 million - 1; growth 2027 = $85,997 million / $51,347 million - 1; share of 2026 total = $51,347 million / $2,670,460 million.
Threat-landscape data from WEF, IBM and ENISA is not yet included and will be added once verified.
Sources
- [1]
Gartner Forecasts Worldwide AI Spending to Grow 49.5% in 2026 / Gartner / 2026-09-16 / Accessed October 1, 2026 / View source
- [2]
The 2025 AI Index Report / Stanford HAI / 2025 / Accessed October 1, 2026 / View source
Figures are reproduced from the publishers above. Calculations marked as our own are derived from these figures. Always check the original source before using a number.
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