Generative AI Is Erasing Behavioral Tells, Weakening Behavior-Only Detection, Proofpoint Reports

Generative AI has changed what a malicious email looks like. Messages that once gave themselves away through clumsy wording, generic pretexts, and reused templates now arrive fluent, personalized, and unique to each recipient, and the behavioral signals email filters have relied on for years are fading as a result.

Proofpoint shared several examples of the shift at its Protect 2026 conference.