An AI SOC is a Security Operations Center that uses autonomous AI agents to detect, triage, investigate, and respond to threats without requiring manual intervention at every step.

In a traditional SOC, human analysts handle every stage of the security workflow. They monitor dashboards, review alerts, investigate incidents, and execute response actions. An AI SOC changes the architecture at each stage by deploying AI agents that work continuously, process all incoming data in real time, and only escalate to humans when judgment or approval is genuinely required.

The term is sometimes used loosely to describe any security operation that incorporates machine learning, but in 2026, the more precise definition refers to a platform where AI agents operate autonomously across the full SOC lifecycle, not just one part of it.