Gartner expects that by 2028, 70% of large SOCs will pilot AI SOC agents to augment Tier 1 and Tier 2 work. The forecast comes with a condition: only 15% will achieve measurable improvement without structured evaluation. If 70% adopt and 15% see results, where does the difference come from? This article maps AI SOC agent adoption onto the hiring process. Applying the steps you take for a new team member to AI makes it concrete what to decide and what to measure. 1. What happe