Bugcrowd recently surveyed over 2,000 hackers to understand how attitudes are changing about AI. We published the results, along with our analysis, in the 2026 edition of Inside the Mind of a Hacker. The following infographic can be found in the report. You can download the full report for so many more AI insights!
Nearly everyone—about 82% of hackers—is already using AI as part of their workflow. And for those who aren’t using AI yet, most plan to start soon. This has increased from 64% in 2023.
When we look at the breakdown, more experienced hackers are slightly more likely to have adopted AI tools, which makes sense. Hackers who have been doing this for a long time know what’s tedious and what’s creative, so they know which components to automate. Hackers are using AI to accelerate learning, analyze data, and automate tasks.
The most stark change over the past three years is around beliefs about AI’s value. In 2023, only 21% of hackers believed AI technologies increase the value of hacking. That number has shot up to 74%.
It is clear that hackers are using AI as a tool to increase the value of their work. It’s not just hackers who are benefiting—security teams who utilize crowdsourced security benefit too. AI changes how hackers work, which changes what they can deliver. This means security teams get:
Download Inside the Mind of a Hacker to learn more about the human-augmented intelligence era!