Bot her emails: most modern phishing campaigns are AI-enabled
A recent report by KnowBe4 reveals that 86% of modern phishing campaigns now involve the use of AI, marking a steady increase over the past two years. AI is being leveraged not only to craft convincing, personalized messages but also to automate reconnaissance and accelerate attacks across multiple vectors. The rise of AI-enabled phishing has led to significant increases in attacks using calendar invites and impersonation via platforms like Microsoft Teams.
- ▪KnowBe4's report found that 86% of phishing campaigns in the past six months involved some form of AI usage.
- ▪The use of AI in phishing has steadily increased from 80% in 2024 to 84% in 2025, and now 86% in 2026.
- ▪There has been a 49% increase in phishing attacks involving calendar invites and a 41% rise in those using Microsoft Teams messages to impersonate coworkers.
- ▪AI enables automated reconnaissance, allowing attackers to gather target data and generate personalized, polymorphic phishing emails.
- ▪These AI-powered campaigns are more effective at evading detection due to improved language quality and personalization.
- ▪Google executives have warned that AI-powered cyberattack kits are likely imminent.
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Security 11 Bot her emails: most modern phishing campaigns are AI-enabled 11 KnowBe4 says 86% of phishing it tracked used AI, and inboxes are only the start Brandon Vigliarolo Thu 30 Apr 2026 // 20:26 UTC Give a man a phishing kit and he might get lucky a couple of times; teach an AI to phish and it'll change the landscape, if KnowBe4's latest phishing trends report is accurate. The cybersecurity and phishing awareness outfit released the seventh edition of its Phishing Threat Trends report on Thursday, and it appears that the internet's legions of phishermen are turning to AI in more ways, and more often, than ever thanks to their widespread adoption of AI.
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