Anti-phishing software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank anti-phishing software by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured monthly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Anti-phishing software used to detect credential theft, block malicious emails and sites, protect users, and improve resilience against business email compromise. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
Mimecast and IRONSCALES share the top two ranks in anti-phishing software with identical composite scores of 3.8 and matching citation rates of 12.5 percent. Every other brand in the top 10, including Proofpoint, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, and Abnormal Security, scores exactly 0.0 across all metrics. The gap between the top two and the rest of the field is therefore absolute, not marginal, which makes competitive displacement from rank 3 onward straightforward for any brand that builds AI presence.
A sharp divergence exists between being named and being cited. Mimecast and IRONSCALES carry 12.5 percent citation rates each while showing 0.0 percent visibility, meaning Google AI Mode references them in answers but does not surface their own domains as visible sources. The category average citation rate is only 1.2 percent, confirming that citation is concentrated in just two brands. Google Workspace Security and Cloudflare Area 1 have zero on both measures despite being well-known products.
The top cited sources for this category are not vendor domains. Youtube.com, Reddit.com, sosafe-awareness.com, and security.org appear alongside specialist sites like netcraft.com and valimail.com. This signals that Google AI Mode is anchoring its anti-phishing answers on third-party awareness content and community discussion rather than vendor documentation. Proofpoint, previously ranked first, lost 12.5 percentage points of visibility and dropped to rank 6, suggesting its prior presence was also source-dependent and fragile.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Mimecast 12% → 0% · rank #2 → #1-12pp
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IRONSCALES 12% → 0% · rank #3 → #2-12pp
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Proofpoint 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #6-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
mimecast.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Mimecast leads with a 12.5 percent citation rate and a composite score of 3.8, but its visibility has dropped 12.5 points from the previous period to zero. |
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| 2 |
ironscales.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
IRONSCALES matches Mimecast exactly at 12.5 percent citation and 3.8 composite score, sharing joint leadership while also recording a 12.5-point visibility decline. |
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| 3 |
google.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Google Workspace Security scores 0.0 on all metrics despite its parent domain being the engine delivering these results, indicating no self-referential citation advantage. |
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| 4 |
cloudflare.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Cloudflare Area 1 holds rank 4 with a composite score of 0.0, receiving no citations and no visibility, placing it well below the 1.2 percent category average citation rate. |
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| 5 |
tessian.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Tessian sits at rank 5 with zero visibility, zero citations, and a composite score of 0.0, showing no measurable AI presence relative to the two brands above it. |
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| 6 |
proofpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
cofense.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
abnormalsecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
material.security
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
microsoft.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
darktrace.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
menlosecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
slashnext.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
barracuda.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
zscaler.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
sophos.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
trendmicro.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
knowbe4.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on anti-phishing software, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer.
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence — different from being named.
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps.
Rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 30 days and refresh this page automatically.
Get your own anti-phishing software brand audited
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about anti-phishing software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in anti-phishing software?
Mimecast and IRONSCALES jointly lead with composite scores of 3.8 and citation rates of 12.5 percent each. Every other brand in the top 10 scores 0.0 on all metrics.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for anti-phishing software research?
The top cited sources are youtube.com, sosafe-awareness.com, reddit.com, netcraft.com, and security.org. Vendor domains are not among the top cited sources in this category.
What is the average citation rate across anti-phishing software brands?
The category average citation rate is 1.2 percent. Only Mimecast and IRONSCALES exceed this, each at 12.5 percent, while the remaining 18 brands sit at or near zero.
Which brands have lost the most AI visibility recently in this category?
Mimecast, IRONSCALES, and Proofpoint each lost 12.5 percentage points of visibility. Proofpoint also fell from rank 1 to rank 6, the largest rank drop recorded in this audit period.
Do high citation rates in this category translate into high visibility scores?
No. Mimecast and IRONSCALES both carry 12.5 percent citation rates but record 0.0 percent visibility, showing that Google AI Mode references these brands without surfacing their own domains as cited sources.
Is Google Workspace Security cited by Google AI Mode in anti-phishing results?
No. Google Workspace Security has a composite score of 0.0 and zero citations, indicating no measurable self-referential advantage from being a Google product in this category.