AI is a buzzword that gets thrown around a lot in cybersecurity -- often, it seems, to obscure and impress, rather than to clarify how products and services work. This is unfortunate, because beyond the hype, artificial intelligence's role in cybersecurity is becoming increasingly indispensable. While AI won't solve all problems, it provides a growing toolbox for accelerating security workflows and better detecting threats. In fact, there are several ways in which AI is already revolutionizing cybersecurity. Pattern Matching and Threat Detection Until the past half decade or so, most cyber-threat detection was performed using small, handwritten pattern-matching programs (called signatures, rules, or indicators of compromise).