AI worm – Definition & Meaning

Definition of AI worm

: a prompt-injection attack that causes an AI application or agent to reproduce malicious instructions in its output, allowing the instructions to spread when another AI system reads that output
- The researchers hid an AI worm in an email so that an assistant would copy the injection into its reply.
- A shared ticketing system could let an AI worm move from a customer-facing agent into internal workflows.

Two meanings, one word

In everyday English

(worm) malware that copies itself and spreads from one computer or network location to another.

In AI

A prompt-injection attack that causes an AI application or agent to reproduce malicious instructions in its output, allowing the instructions to spread when another AI…

Origin & history

first known use2024

Researchers demonstrated a generative-AI worm called Morris II in 2024 using adversarial self-replicating prompts in AI email assistants. In September 2026, OpenAI independently reported self-replicating prompt injections and described them as an AI version of a worm attack.

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Related terms

prompt injection an attack in which hidden instructions are slipped into content an AI reads, such as a web… retrieval-augmented generation a technique in which a system first searches a collection of documents for relevant passages… AI agent an AI system that can pursue a goal over many steps on its own, deciding what to do next… agentic workflow a process in which one or more AI agents carry out a series of steps, such as research… guardrails rules, filters, and checks placed around an AI system to keep its outputs and actions within… AI safety the field concerned with making AI systems behave as intended and avoid causing harm, from…

Cite this entry

"AI worm." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/ai-worm/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.