Will AI replace Intelligence Analysts?

Some of your tasks will be automated. People who use AI will have the edge.

Task exposure to today's AI

49/100

Moderate exposure

This is the occupation's typical task mix. Your own score can be up to 30 points higher or lower depending on how you work: routine share, people contact, judgment and how much you already use AI.

Get your personal score

Will AI replace Intelligence Analysts?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 49% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data. The parts that stay human include: Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.; Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities.; Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity..

People who learn to use AI for the automatable parts keep the edge. The 3-phase plan below shows where to start.

Which tasks AI can take on

The largest tasks in this occupation, their share of the working week, and how much of each today's AI tools can do.

TaskAutomatable

Prepare comprehensive written reports, presentations, maps, or charts, based on research, collection, and analysis of intelligence data. 75%

Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity. 55%

Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases. 53%

Design, use, or maintain databases and software applications, such as geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and artificial intelligence tools.AI already used 53%

Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities. 35%

Link or chart suspects to criminal organizations or events to determine activities and interrelationships. 33%

+ 15 more tasks (37% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases.
Collaborate with representatives from other government and intelligence organizations to share information or coordinate intelligence activities.
Analyze intelligence data to identify patterns and trends in criminal activity.

AI tools to try

ChatGPT / Claude for reports and summariesVideo analytics and alerting systemsTranscription tools

Related roles

A 3-phase AI learning plan

Phase 1

Faster reports

Incident reports drafted from your notes with AI, checked by you.
Summaries of long documents and procedures.
Follow rules on personal and sensitive data.

Project

Draft 10 intelligence summary reports from your own field notes using an approved AI tool with all identifiers removed, verify each yourself, and log minutes saved per report.

Phase 2

Working with AI systems

How video analytics and alerting systems work, and where they fail.
False alarms and bias: when to trust and when to check.
Clear handover between system alerts and human decisions.

Project

Audit 100 alerts from your agency's analytics or link-analysis tool, classify each as true hit, false alarm or bias risk, and write a one-page escalation rule from the results.

Phase 3

Specialise

Training in security technology or analysis.
Procedures that combine AI tools with human judgment.
Mentor newer colleagues.

Project

Write and pilot a unit SOP pairing AI-assisted pattern analysis with mandatory human verification, then coach two junior analysts through it and measure their first-draft accuracy.

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