Proofpoint has unveiled what it describes as the first agentic AI solution for Human Communications Intelligence (HCI), introducing real-time capabilities designed to help enterprises detect, interpret and prevent compliance and conduct risks before they escalate. The announcement signals a shift in digital communications governance for industries that face regulatory scrutiny and high litigation risks.
Addressing growing risks in workplace communications
A survey of 1,600 chief information security officers worldwide revealed that more than a third consider collaboration platforms such as Slack, Teams and Zoom to be their top risk factor, placing them ahead of concerns like generative AI chatbots, cloud storage, and perimeter devices. Traditionally, compliance teams have relied on connectors and archives to capture communications, but these have offered little intelligence beyond record-keeping.
Proofpoint argues that modern threats such as insider misconduct, financial irregularities and regulatory breaches require tools that do more than archive data. By applying reasoning AI to communications across more than 80 channels, the company aims to detect intent and behavioural patterns in real time, helping organisations act before risks develop into security or legal incidents.
From capture to reasoning in real time
The company’s Digital Communications Governance (DCG) portfolio introduces HCI technology powered by its recently acquired Nuclei platform. Unlike earlier solutions that flagged keywords or patterns, Proofpoint’s HCI uses intelligent agents that interpret human intent, flag risks as they emerge, and explain the reasoning behind each action.
“Legacy connectors are merely proxies that pass content downstream, offering little intelligence,” said Harry Labana, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Proofpoint’s DCG business. “Proofpoint has reimagined capture by moving beyond simply collecting messages to interpreting and reasoning in real time. This transforms the world’s largest source of behavioural data—human conversations—into actionable intelligence that empowers compliance, legal, and security teams to prevent risk before it escalates.”
New features in compliance supervision and risk management
Among the core capabilities of Proofpoint’s AI-driven DCG portfolio is real-time communications intelligence. Using Nuclei technology, the system analyses communications from multiple sources including collaboration apps, social platforms, email, voice, files, and generative AI chatbots. Unlike pre-trained models, Proofpoint’s reasoning agents present explanations alongside flagged risks, from insider threats and regulatory violations to signals of toxic workplace culture.
The platform also introduces explainable AI for compliance supervision, aimed at cutting down on false positives. It reviews 100% of communications, interpreting tone, intent, emojis, shorthand and even code snippets across languages. Proofpoint claims this can reduce long-tail noise by up to 90%, lowering manual workloads for compliance teams.
In addition, signals from HCI agents are integrated with Proofpoint’s Insider Threat Management system. This links communication data with user behaviour on endpoints, correlating what employees say with what they do. Proofpoint states that this creates the industry’s first real-time feedback loop, giving compliance and legal teams earlier visibility and enabling interventions before issues lead to breaches or litigation.
Availability
Proofpoint confirmed that its Human Communications Intelligence agents, powered by Nuclei, are already available. Additional AI-powered features for supervision are scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2025, while integration with Insider Threat Management is planned for the first quarter of 2026.
