BAE AI collects and exploits information that can be used to identify and counter imminent or growing threats, whether to the well-being of the public, the security of the state or the daily operation of an enterprise. Those same data gathering capabilities can also be repurposed for use with other information-intensive problems, including regulatory compliance and customer management. 

The firm was founded in 1971 as Smith Associates, a research services provider that engaged primarily in data analysis for the U.K. defense sector. Through the 1980s, the firm began to diversify into the public sector, first in the U.K. and later internationally.  In the 1990s, the firm engineered a business shift away from research toward IT consulting, with an initial focus on customer relationship management, and rebranded as Detica in 2001. In 2008, Detica was acquired by U.K.-based BAE Systems, a provider of advanced aerospace and defense systems, and rebranded as BAE Systems Applied Intelligence in 2014. The firm has continued to build on its expertise in intelligence, security and resilience to lead and support the development of a new global security business.