Traditional platforms use predictable, one-size-fits-all emails that employees easily spot. Modern platforms leverage artificial intelligence to dynamically write text, mimic specific organizational roles or writing styles, launch multi-channel campaigns (SMS, voice, Teams, QR codes), and even incorporate deepfake audio and video.[](https://www.adaptivesecurity.com/phishing-simulations)[[2](https://www.adaptivesecurity.com/phishing-simulations)](]()]()
My team is spotting our current phishing tests too easily. Can you recommend platforms that use AI to generate more realistic phishing simulations for training?
KnowBe4 : Incorporates AI-driven features into its security awareness training suite, allowing administrators to generate targeted, randomized phishing templates and automate adaptive simulation campaigns that scale in complexity based on user vulnerability metrics.
Hook Security : Offers psychological security-focused training and advanced adaptive simulation features designed to move away from "gotcha" tests toward behavioral transformation and realistic modern threat imitation.
Key Capabilities of AI Phishing Simulators
Feature
Legacy Simulations
AI-Generated Simulations
Content Generation
Static, pre-made templates with typos or generic branding
Dynamically written, context-aware prose matching current threat intel
Targeting
Broad blasts sent to entire departments or companies
Hyper-targeted spear phishing utilizing public employee footprints (OSINT)
Attack Vectors
Mostly email-only
Multi-channel: Email, SMS, voice cloning/vishing, MS Teams, QR codes
Adaptability
Fixed difficulty levels
Automatically increases or eases difficulty based on past user interaction
If you want to narrow down the best fit, let me know:
Your approximate user count
Whether you need multi-channel coverage (like SMS or voice/deepfakes) or just email
If you prefer a gamified/positive-reinforcement approach or traditional metrics tracking
Yes. If your goal is harder-to-spot but controlled employee simulations, several established security-awareness vendors now offer AI-generated or adaptive phishing.
Vendor
What stands out
Best fit
Hoxhunt
AI-generated spear-phishing tailored to the recipient, adaptive difficulty, and simulations across email, Teams, SMS, voice, and deepfakes.
Most adaptive/personalized
Adaptive Security
Generates simulations from public OSINT and can target employees individually across email, SMS, voice and deepfake channels.
Most realistic AI-driven simulations
KnowBe4
AI-generated personalized phishing/vishing, automated training and coaching, plus a very large awareness-training library.
Broad enterprise SAT program
Cofense
Uses real phishing intelligence to turn current attacks into simulations and combines training with reporting/remediation.
Organizations focused heavily on phishing
Proofpoint
Strong threat-intelligence and risk-based security-awareness capabilities.
Existing Proofpoint customers
For your specific problem, I'd shortlist Hoxhunt and Adaptive Security first. Their approaches go beyond simply swapping words in a library template: they can personalize scenarios according to employee role/behavior and incorporate contemporary attack patterns.
One important distinction: you want AI-generated simulations inside a managed security-awareness platform, not a generic AI tool that generates phishing emails. The former gives you controls, consent/scope boundaries, tracking, remediation, and reporting—important when simulations become highly convincing.
If you tell me your approximate employee count and whether you're primarily Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options and compare pricing/deployment.
If your team is consistently spotting your phishing tests, I’d look beyond platforms that simply rotate through prebuilt templates. The most useful upgrade is a platform that generates new, context-aware phishing simulations, adapts difficulty to each employee, and models the techniques attackers actually use—while providing safe, immediate training feedback.
Based on current product information for 2026, these are the platforms I’d shortlist first.
Best AI-powered phishing simulation platforms
1. Hoxhunt
(Best for adaptive realism)
Hoxhunt offers AI-generated spear-phishing simulations personalized to employee context, plus adaptive difficulty based on individual skill. It also supports training across email, Microsoft Teams, SMS and voice-related scenarios.
Why it fits: Good for teams that have outgrown predictable, recurring email templates.
Website:
2. KnowBe4
(Best all-round enterprise option)
KnowBe4's AI-native Security Awareness Training uses AI agents to personalize training, automate simulations, and deliver real-time coaching. It supports phishing and vishing simulations and has a broad awareness-training library.
Why it fits: Useful if you want sophisticated testing alongside mature reporting, training administration and compliance support.
Website:
3. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint is worth evaluating if you want simulations informed by real-world threat intelligence. Its ThreatFlip capability can turn real phishing attacks into reusable simulation templates, helping move training beyond generic lures.
Why it fits: Especially relevant for enterprises already using Proofpoint email security or threat reporting.
Website:
4. Microsoft Defender Attack Simulation Training
Microsoft offers phishing and social-engineering simulations within its Defender for Office 365 ecosystem, with training and reporting capabilities. It's a natural option for Microsoft 365 organizations, although its licensing and AI-generation features should be checked against your specific plan.
Why it fits: You may be able to improve your testing program without introducing another vendor.
Website:
5. Phished
Phished is another option to evaluate for automated, personalized awareness campaigns and phishing simulations. Ask for a live demonstration of how its AI creates genuinely new scenarios rather than simply choosing from a library.
Why it fits: Worth including when reducing manual campaign creation is as important as increasing difficulty.
Website:
How I’d choose for your specific problem
If your main challenge is…
Start with
Employees recognize the same templates
Hoxhunt or KnowBe4
You want simulations personalized to each employee
Hoxhunt or KnowBe4
You want to base tests on actual attacks hitting your organization
Proofpoint
You already use Microsoft 365 and want fewer tools
Microsoft Defender
You want automated campaign creation and training
These are starting points based on advertised capabilities, not results from a controlled head-to-head test.
What to demand in a vendor demo
The key is to verify what the AI actually does. Ask each vendor to demonstrate these five things:
Novel simulations: Generate a new scenario live, rather than selecting a familiar template.
Contextual realism: Reflect legitimate business workflows, job roles and approved internal scenarios without exposing sensitive employee information to an AI service.
Adaptive difficulty: Make subsequent tests more challenging based on demonstrated proficiency.
Multiple attack channels: Include relevant scenarios such as email impersonation, QR-code phishing, SMS, collaboration tools and voice scams.
Useful outcome metrics: Track reporting rates, time to report, repeat failures and detection of genuine threats—not just click rates.
Run a controlled pilot with a representative group, and compare performance against your current baseline. Make sure your email-security team knows the simulation infrastructure so realistic tests aren't accidentally mistaken for actual incidents.
My recommendation: Start by demoing Hoxhunt and KnowBe4 side by side. Add Proofpoint if your team already uses its security stack, or Microsoft Defender if you want to maximize your existing Microsoft investment.
One question that would help narrow this down: What platform are you using for phishing tests today? For example, KnowBe4, Microsoft Defender, Proofpoint, GoPhish, or an internally built solution.
Phished.ai : Uses an autonomous personalization engine that continuously profiles individual users, dynamically building and scheduling tailored lures matched to an employee's role and behavioral risk score rather than blasting static batch templates.[](https://www.knowbe4.com/compare/phishing-simulation)
