AI agents are becoming a major security concern for businesses in 2026. According to a report from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), also called data protection leaders, agentic AI systems — which are AI programs that can work independently and make decisions — are creating new data privacy risks that many companies are not ready to handle.

Experts predict that by 2026, there will be 100 AI agents for every human worker, each one accessing important company data. The problem is that many organizations are rushing to use these AI agents without proper security guards or guardrails. This means AI agents might accidentally share sensitive information, perform tasks they shouldn't, or even be tricked by hackers into opening doors for cyberattacks.

One major concern is that people are treating AI assistants like trusted friends, which causes them to share passwords, customer information, and business secrets in their conversations. Another problem is voice cloning and deepfakes — technology that can now copy anyone's voice or face so perfectly that it's almost impossible to tell the difference from the real person. This means hackers can trick employees into sending money or sharing passwords by pretending to be their boss or a coworker.

The UK's ICO is working on new rules to protect people's data when companies use AI agents. These rules will require companies to be more careful about what data their AI agents can access, to explain how their AI makes decisions, and to make sure AI doesn't accidentally use personal information in ways that violate privacy laws.

Small and medium-sized businesses are especially worried about how to keep up with all these new AI security challenges, especially when their IT teams are already busy with other tasks. The key to staying safe in 2026 is making sure companies control what data their AI agents can access, monitor what they do, and train employees to recognize fake voices and suspicious messages.