Militant and extremist groups are increasingly experimenting with artificial intelligence to amplify propaganda, streamline recruitment, and enhance cyber capabilities. While these organizations currently lag behind nation-state actors in sophistication, experts warn that low-cost, accessible AI tools are lowering barriers to entry and expanding the potential impact of even loosely organized groups. Governments and security agencies are now racing to understand and counter this emerging threat.

Generative AI tools have rapidly become mainstream, reshaping industries ranging from healthcare to software development. Alongside legitimate use cases, these technologies are also attracting interest from malicious actors. Extremist organizations, long adept at exploiting digital platforms for influence and recruitment, are now testing how AI can further amplify their reach and effectiveness.

Researchers and intelligence agencies have observed extremist groups — including affiliates of the Islamic State (IS) — encouraging members to integrate AI into their operations. Online forums linked to pro-IS communities have promoted AI as an easy-to-use tool for recruitment, disinformation, and psychological operations.

Evidence shows that these groups are already leveraging AI-generated imagery, deepfake audio, and automated translation tools to disseminate propaganda across multiple languages and platforms. In several recent geopolitical crises, AI-generated visuals and videos circulated widely, inflaming polarization and obscuring verified information.

Extremist groups are primarily using commercially available generative AI platforms rather than developing proprietary systems. Current use cases include:

While these techniques remain relatively basic, they significantly reduce the expertise and resources required to conduct influence and cyber operations.

The most immediate impact is informational rather than kinetic. AI-generated propaganda enables extremist groups to manipulate narratives at scale, recruit globally, and confuse public discourse. Smaller groups or lone actors can now project influence once limited to state-backed operations.

Longer-term concerns include the potential use of AI to automate cyberattacks or assist in the development of chemical or biological weapons, a risk highlighted in recent U.S. homeland threat assessments.

AI’s accessibility fundamentally changes the threat landscape. Tools that once required advanced technical skills are now available to anyone with an internet connection. This democratization of capability increases the speed, reach, and persistence of extremist influence campaigns, complicating detection and response efforts for governments and platforms alike.

Security leaders emphasize that extremist adoption of AI is still evolving but accelerating. Former intelligence officials note that these groups historically adopt emerging technologies early, refining their use over time.

Policymakers argue that transparency and information-sharing between AI developers, governments, and security agencies are essential to identifying misuse patterns before they mature into more dangerous capabilities.