Takepoint Survey Finds OT AI Adoption Outpacing Security Safeguards
Original report publisher: not verified. Report discovered via Awesome Annual Security Reports.
Summary
Takepoint’s 2026 survey of 302 OT and ICS professionals finds AI adoption broadening, while tested controls, formal governance and mapping of AI decisions with potential physical consequences remain limited.
Key points
- The survey gathered 302 completed responses from OT, ICS, industrial cybersecurity, automation, engineering and critical infrastructure professionals between April 13 and July 10, 2026.
- 87.7% of respondents were using, evaluating, piloting or planning AI for OT cybersecurity; 30.8% had deployed it for at least one function, but 7.9% had deployed it across multiple functions.
- Reported AI use most commonly involved threat detection and alerting (33.8%), network monitoring and anomaly detection (31.5%), and SOC augmentation (24.5%).
- Data quality and availability (45.4%) and integration with legacy OT systems (42.4%) were the most frequently reported implementation challenges.
- While 63.9% viewed AI-related physical-consequence risk as a top-tier or emerging priority, only 11.9% had formally mapped AI-driven decisions that could affect physical processes.
- 35.1% reported having controls to protect AI tools and models, but just 7.6% were very confident because those controls had been tested; 15.6% reported an enforced OT-specific AI policy.
- The report cautions that its self-selecting sample may over-represent larger organizations and people already engaged with AI or industrial cybersecurity, so findings indicate market direction rather than representing all industrial organizations.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Takepoint Research
- Report Period
- 2026-04-13 to 2026-07-10
- Scope
- Survey of AI adoption, benefits, risks, controls, and governance in OT cybersecurity.
- Sample Size
- 302 completed responses from professionals working in or supporting OT, ICS, industrial cybersecurity, automation, engineering, and critical infrastructure operations; self-selected sample.
- Key Statistics
- 87.7% of respondents reported using, evaluating, piloting, or planning AI for OT cybersecurity.
- 63.6% of respondents reported using AI for at least one OT cybersecurity function.
- 63.9% considered AI-related physical-consequence risk a top-tier or emerging priority.
- 35.1% reported having AI security controls; only 7.6% were very confident because controls had been tested.
- 11.9% reported formally mapping and reviewing AI-driven decisions that could affect physical processes, safety systems, or operational continuity.
- Recommendations
- Use documented human-in-the-loop protocols for AI-driven decisions that could affect operational safety, availability, or physical processes.
- Test AI security controls against manipulation, adversarial inputs, and supply-chain compromise.
- Map AI-driven decisions to the physical processes they may influence and the controls that can interrupt unsafe outcomes.
Industries
Critical infrastructure(OT), industrial control systems (ICS), industrial cybersecurity, automation, engineering, and critical infrastructure operations.ManufacturingTakepoint Research is an independent analyst firm focused on industrial cybersecurity across manufacturing and critical infrastructure.