Precision Deception: Rise of AI-Powered Social Engineering

Download our report to understand the state of Artificial Intelligence-powered social engineering

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often viewed as a game-changer for social engineering, evidence of AI-driven tools in underground markets remains limited. Generative AI has improved the quality of phishing and business email compromise (BEC) lures, but most threat actors still rely on phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and standard kits, using AI mainly for drafting and localizing content. Currently, it appears AI serves more as an efficiency tool than a fundamental strategy for profit-driven criminals.

Read our report Precision Deception: Rise of AI-Powered Social Engineering, which offers Intel 471’s comprehensive analysis of the growing role of AI in supporting social engineering schemes. It investigates the motivations driving contemporary attacker behavior and profiles key techniques, including spear-phishing, vishing and deepfakes. The report also evaluates the tool sets that facilitate attacks across three channels — text, voice, and visual/multimedia — each of which leverage unique human trust signals.

What you’ll learn:

• A structured approach to assessing AI-driven social engineering
• Insights into the tools, tactics and targeting strategies used within each channel
• How different AI capabilities can be used for deception in each channel
• Why most threat actors still lean on PhaaS platforms and off‑the‑shelf kits
• How threat actors seek to integrate AI into their offers