Sophos AI Agents: Accelerating MDR and Powering the Agentic SOC

AI is reshaping cybersecurity. Attackers are using AI to accelerate reconnaissance, generate malware, personalize phishing, and automate parts of the attack chain. Defenders now face a human‑plus‑machine problem - one that requires AI to augment analysts, accelerate decisions, and strengthen outcomes.

Sophos has been embedding AI across our portfolio for nearly a decade, and agentic AI is now a core part of that strategy. 

Within Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR), agentic capabilities automate early‑stage triage and investigation while keeping analysts firmly in control. The result is faster detection, faster response, and a more efficient SOC.

How Sophos MDR uses Sophos AI agents

AI agents are autonomous engines that execute defined workflows without requiring human prompts. They differ from AI assistants, which respond to analyst questions.

Sophos MDR currently uses two production‑grade AI agents - both designed by our in‑house AI team and refined with our MDR analysts - to accelerate case handling and improve SOC efficiency.

Triage Agent: Reducing noise and prioritizing what matters

The Triage Agent runs continuously and activates the moment a new detection is created. 

It:

• Analyzes contextual signals such as correlation IDs and historical telemetry
• Identifies benign penetration‑testing activity
• Eliminates duplicate or redundant detections
• Assigns case severity to determine whether analyst review is required

This automated triage reduces alert noise by more than 60% and ensures analysts focus on the events that truly matter.

Case Investigation Agent: Fast, explainable investigations

When a case is promoted for review, the Case Investigation Agent takes over. 

It:

• Builds a behavioral timeline using runtime telemetry and correlated detections
• Enriches indicators of compromise (IoCs), performs reputation checks, and analyzes command‑line activity (including de‑obfuscation)
• Generates dynamic investigation steps tailored to the threat
• Iterates through evidence, adjusting its plan as new information emerges
• Produces a clear, explainable verdict and recommended actions

This agent reduces mean time to investigate by up to 50%, giving analysts a structured, auditable foundation for rapid decision‑making.

Human‑in‑the‑loop validation remains central. The agents accelerate the work, while Sophos MDR analysts confirm findings, refine conclusions, and take action.

Delivering measurable SOC outcomes

Sophos AI Agents strengthen MDR operations at every stage:

Faster analyst engagement: Routine, low‑severity events are handled automatically, allowing analysts to focus immediately on high‑impact threats.

Faster investigations: Agents surface early indicators, enrich data, and provide ready‑to‑validate conclusions.

Consistent access to expertise: Agents apply the collective knowledge of Sophos MDR’s playbooks and analyst experience at scale.

Higher analyst efficiency: Automation frees analysts to focus on complex hunts, containment, and adversary disruption.

Continuous improvement: Agents re‑trigger on new detections and re‑enrich new IoCs as investigations evolve.

These capabilities directly reduce mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) for Sophos MDR customers.

How the Sophos AI Agents Work

Case Triage Agent: Automating the first response

The Triage Agent performs a structured sequence of actions, including:

• Extracting entities and observables (hosts, users, processes, IoCs)
• Classifying penetration‑testing activity
• Linking related detections to prevent duplicate cases
• Assigning severity based on contextual signals

This ensures analysts spend their time on the most relevant, high‑impact threats.

Case Investigation Agent: Deep, adaptive analysis

The Case Investigation Agent uses three coordinated sub‑agents:

• Plan generation: Creates a dynamic set of investigation steps
• Execution: Runs queries, makes API calls, and retrieves results
• Analysis: Enriches IoCs, extracts entities, and updates the investigation state

The agent iterates until it has enough evidence to produce a comprehensive report including verdict, summary, IoCs, timeline, and recommended actions.

Together, these agents act as always‑on investigative partners, accelerating early case handling and delivering structured, explainable outcomes.

Agentic, but human‑centered

At Sophos, our approach to agentic AI is grounded in three principles:

• Embedded AI: AI is woven directly into MDR workflows, not bolted on.
• Transparency: Every automated action is explainable and auditable.
• Human‑in‑the‑loop: Analysts remain accountable and empowered.

These principles ensure that agentic AI amplifies human expertise rather than replacing it.

Sophos AI Agents are already delivering measurable improvements for MDR customers by reducing noise, accelerating investigations, and strengthening defenses against advanced, human‑led attacks.

The Path Forward: The agentic SOC

The MDR AI Agents are the first step toward a broader agentic SOC vision. We’re expanding agentic capabilities across the Sophos platform, including:

• Enhanced agents that generate hypotheses, gather context, and propose actions
• Expanded coverage across network, identity, email, and cloud
• AI Agents for XDR customers and partners
• Hyper‑automation through AI + SOAR
• Unified AI governance, visibility, and runtime security

This next‑generation SOC is powered by autonomous‑but‑supervised agents that scale analyst impact and deliver consistent, high‑quality security outcomes.

Learn more

Explore our AI technologies at Sophos.com/AI and learn more about Sophos MDR at Sophos.com/MDR. And our AI Principles and Responsible AI FAQs are available in the Sophos Trust Center.