The market for AI SOC agents is early, crowded, and full of claims that haven't been tested in production
This Gartner research arms security operations leaders with a list of specific questions to ask vendors across seven critical areas before committing to a solution.
Key criteria and questions:
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Seven evaluation categories spanning use case fit, outcome measurement, pricing, analyst augmentation, autonomy boundaries, integration, and governance
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How to tie AI SOC agent investments to measurable TDIR improvements
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Which governance and transparency controls to require before giving an AI agent operational access;
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Why mean time to contain (MTTC) should be the metric you anchor your evaluation around
This guide breaks down these criteria into a four-stage framework (with an in-depth checklist and a list of red flags in the appendix).
Source: Gartner, Validate the Promises of AI SOC Agents With These Key Questions, Craig Lawson and Andrew Davies, 28 October 2025.
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