Gartner® Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026: AI Security Platforms

AI security platforms are starting to emerge as a critical pillar to defend against AI-native security risks. Gartner recommends that CIOs centralize effective AI security controls as part of their AI security strategy to enhance AI deployment success across the whole organization.

Per Gartner, by 2028, more than 50% of enterprises will use AI security platforms to secure third-party AI service usage and protect custom-built AI applications, up from less than 10% in 2025, as organizations respond to the rising risk of shadow AI, data leakage, prompt injection, and AI system misuse.

Use this report to define requirements for an AI security platform, set priorities, and evaluate providers using Gartner® research.

In Cato’s view, this report reflects:

• Why stand-alone AI security products provide isolated visibility across third-party AI usage and in-house AI development activities.
• How Gartner defines an AI security platform (AISP) and its two pillars: AI usage control (AIUC) and AI application security (AIAS).
• Why foundational controls remain critical to secure an AI journey, but additional AI-native security risks can now be monitored and managed using AI security platforms.
• Why native guardrails are limited in function, and why CIOs must strategize choices for cloud-agnostic security platforms across the AI development life cycle.
• Why Gartner recommends favoring providers that can secure both third-party AI usage and custom-built AI apps with a single platform.

Gartner, Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026: AI Security Platforms, Dennis Xu, Marissa Schmidt, Bart Willemsen, Gene Alvarez, Neil MacDonald, Kevin Schmidt, 18 October 2025. 

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