As generative AI reshapes the digital landscape, phishing, the world’s most persistent cyber threat, has entered a new era of speed, scale, and sophistication. Phishing remains a primary source of initial access to business networks, often serving as the launchpad for broader cyber intrusions. With the average phishing-related data breach costing businesses USD 4.88 million, underscoring this attack vector’s dominance.

Threat actors are weaponizing AI tools, such as SpamGPT, WormGPT and FraudGPT, leading to a surge in phishing sophistication and volume. Some metrics reveal an increase of 1,265% since the launch of generative AI tools, and defences are struggling to keep pace, making adaptive human-AI defence collaboration essential. The next generation of defence depends not just on stronger filters, but on integrating human intuition with AI precision. Human-AI cooperation will be crucial in anticipating, detecting and mitigating this evolving threat landscape.