Will intelligence analysts be replaced by AI?
Updated
Intelligence analysts score 47 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 84%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 6% outright, and 10% stays with people.
- 6% AI can do it
- 84% AI helps
- 10% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 67% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 21 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 17 and leaves 3 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data. AI drafts reports, charts and summaries; analyst reviews and approves. | 65% AI can do it |
| Design, use, or maintain databases and software applications, such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and artificial intelligence tools. AI coding and admin tools speed database and GIS maintenance. | 60% AI helps |
| Validate known intelligence with data from other sources. AI can compare sources and flag conflicts; analyst judges reliability. | 55% AI helps |
| Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases. AI can search, summarize and correlate records; analyst evaluates results. | 55% AI helps |
| Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity. AI can surface patterns and trends; analysts validate and contextualize them. | 55% AI helps |
| Study communication code languages or foreign languages to translate intelligence. AI translates foreign text well; code languages still need expert review. | 55% AI helps |
| Evaluate records of communications, such as telephone calls, to plot activity and determine the size and location of criminal groups and members. Link and pattern tools can map call records; analyst interprets findings. | 50% AI helps |
| Link or chart suspects to criminal organizations or events to determine activities and interrelationships. Software can generate link charts; analyst confirms relationships. | 50% AI helps |
| Study the assets of criminal suspects to determine the flow of money from or to targeted groups. AI can trace transactions and summarize financial records; analyst concludes. | 50% AI helps |
| Establish criminal profiles to aid in connecting criminal organizations with their members. AI can draft profiles from records; analyst judges relevance. | 45% AI helps |
Show the other 11 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Identify gaps in information. AI can flag missing data against requirements; analyst decides priorities. | 45% AI helps |
| Study activities relating to narcotics, money laundering, gangs, auto theft rings, terrorism, or other national security threats. AI can research and summarize threat topics; analyst leads study. | 40% AI helps |
| Predict future gang, organized crime, or terrorist activity, using analyses of intelligence data. AI can model trends, but forecasting needs human judgment and accountability. | 35% AI helps |
| Gather intelligence information by field observation, confidential information sources, or public records. Public records search is AI-assisted; field and source work stays human. | 30% AI helps |
| Conduct presentations of analytic findings. AI can build slides and talking points; live delivery stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Develop defense plans or tactics, using intelligence and other information. AI can suggest options from intelligence; strategy needs human judgment. | 25% AI helps |
| Gather and evaluate information, using tools such as aerial photographs, radar equipment, or sensitive radio equipment. Image AI helps imagery review; operating sensor hardware stays manual. | 25% AI helps |
| Prepare plans to intercept foreign communications transmissions. Technical collection planning is specialized; AI assists documentation only. | 20% AI helps |
| Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities. Coordination depends on relationships and trust with other agencies. | 15% Needs a person |
| Operate cameras, radios, or other surveillance equipment to intercept communications or document activities. Operating surveillance hardware in the field is hands-on physical work. | 8% Needs a person |
| Interview, interrogate, or interact with witnesses or crime suspects to collect human intelligence. Live interviews and rapport with people require human presence. | 5% Needs a person |
How intelligence analysts compare
All occupations (923)
Protective service (26)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $93,790 a year, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +0.2% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Write source-graded assessments in Microsoft Word
- Validate reported facts against multiple records in Microsoft Access
- Build and maintain GIS layers for threat mapping
- Analyze criminal activity patterns in Microsoft Excel
- Deliver live briefings of analytic findings to decision makers
- Review coded communications and foreign language translations for accuracy
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about intelligence analysts and AI
Will AI replace intelligence analysts?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly report drafting and database or GIS maintenance. Interviews, surveillance equipment work and partner coordination stay with people because they need a human present.
Which intelligence analyst tasks is AI taking over?
Report writing is the most exposed task, scoring 65, because AI drafts reports, charts and summaries that the analyst then reviews. Database and GIS maintenance scores 60, and pattern analysis and source validation each score 55, since AI can surface trends and flag conflicting sources.
Which intelligence analyst tasks stay human?
Interviewing witnesses and suspects scores 5, the lowest on the list, because rapport and live questioning need a person in the room. Operating surveillance equipment scores 8 and stays hands-on in the field. Partner coordination scores 15 because trust between agencies is built by people.
How can intelligence analysts stay valuable?
Check AI-drafted reports against source records in Microsoft Access and Excel before you sign off. Keep building GIS layers and databases, a task scoring 60, so you are the person who maintains the tools. Practice live briefings, since AI can build the slides but a person still has to present the findings.
Related jobs
Next steps for intelligence analysts
Check which roles in your team AI can take on
We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first.
Related topics
- Jobs AI can't replaceCement masons score lowest, at 8.
- Jobs most at risk from AIProofreaders score highest, at 76.
- High-paying jobs with low AI exposureRadiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.
- Entry-level jobs with low AI exposureCement masons need little prior training and score 8.
- Jobs AI speeds up the mostFor natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.
- AI and jobs in Malta15 iGaming roles graded task by task.
- Skills that keep work humanThe skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.
- Jobs A to ZEvery job we publish, by first letter.
- AI exposure by industryAverage scores for 22 occupation groups.
- Write a CV screening software can readHow applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.
- AI for businessesThe tasks to automate first in each team and industry.
- How we score AI exposureThe grading, the weights and every source.