Thinking carefully before adopting agentic AI

Agentic AI tools are starting to appear in real organizations, not just research labs. These tools don’t just generate content or predictions; they can plan, make decisions, and take actions on your behalf.

This capability can be beneficial, including in cyber defense, but it can also introduce new risks if used without care. ‘Careful adoption of agentic AI services’ is new joint guidance, co-authored by the NCSC with international partners, that sets out why organizations should start small, use agents only for low-risk tasks, and apply established cybersecurity controls from the outset.

This blog summarizes the key points from that guidance and will be of use to anyone involved in the design, development, deployment, and operation of agentic AI systems.

Source: UK NCSC (Cyber) (15 May 2026)