AEO Rankings · Security

AEO for anti-phishing software: AI search visibility ranking

By monitoraeo Last updated August 15, 2026 Refreshed every 90 days

How AI search engines rank anti-phishing software by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured quarterly 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 →

Avg visibility across category

Avg citation rate

20/20

Brands successfully audited

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When AI engines are asked about anti-phishing software, Proofpoint emerges as the clear leader, featuring prominently in 37.5% of their responses. Other top brands like Mimecast and IRONSCALES also hold significant positions. Proofpoint's visibility reinforces its prominence and reliability in the field, setting a high bar for competitors.

The rankings are shaped by the sources AI engines reference most frequently. Platforms like YouTube, netcraft.com, and huntress.com, as well as community sites like Reddit, heavily influence these results. The presence of aggregator and review sites suggests a strong reliance on broad validation and diverse feedback.

For buyers assessing this ranking, it's crucial to note that the AI values recent reviews and third-party validation. Brands cited across authoritative sources and platforms gain a stronger presence. Focus on a brand's topical authority in specific subcategories of anti-phishing to make a more informed decision.

At a glance

Category leader Proofpoint 38% visibility · named in 3 of 8 AI answers

Most cited brand Mimecast 25% citation rate · the AI's most-trusted source brand in anti-phishing software

Top cited domain youtube.com Referenced by AI across the anti-phishing software query set — the highest-leverage PR target in this category

Visibility spread 38pp Gap between top and bottom of the ranking · 15 brands at 0% (invisible to the AI)

What we observed in this category

Proofpoint leads the anti-phishing software category with a visibility score of 37.5%, more than three times the 12.5% recorded by the four brands directly beneath it, and nearly nine times the category average of 4.4%. That gap is significant from an AEO perspective because it signals that Google AI Mode consistently selects Proofpoint as a primary answer source. However, Proofpoint's citation rate sits at exactly 0.0%, meaning the AI references it by name without linking back to its domain, a pattern worth monitoring closely.

The visibility-versus-citation split is the most telling dynamic in this category's AEO data. Mimecast holds a 25.0% citation rate despite only 12.5% visibility, making it the most-cited brand relative to its named appearances. KnowBe4 Defend, Sophos, and Cloudflare Area 1 each carry a 12.5% citation rate alongside 0.0% visibility, meaning they earn source links without ever appearing as named recommendations. Abnormal Security shows the inverse pattern, achieving 12.5% visibility with zero citations, identical to Proofpoint's dynamic.

Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in this dataset, confirming the category's AEO competition is concentrated in a single engine. The cited sources anchoring the AI's responses are notably indirect: youtube.com, reddit.com, netcraft.com, and huntress.com feature prominently, rather than vendor-owned domains. This suggests Google AI Mode is drawing on third-party review and community content to construct its answers, which has direct implications for where brands in this category should be building authoritative presence.

Movers & shakers since last refresh

Biggest visibility risers

Abnormal Security 0% → 12% · rank #8 → #5
+12pp

Biggest visibility fallers

IRONSCALES 38% → 12% · rank #1 → #3
-25pp
Mimecast 25% → 12% · rank #3 → #2
-12pp

The AEO ranking

#	Brand	Visibility	Citation	Top engine
1	Proofpoint proofpoint.com	38%	0%	Google AI Mode
Proofpoint dominates named visibility at 37.5%, more than three times any rival, yet its 0.0% citation rate means Google AI Mode names it without linking to its domain.
2	Mimecast mimecast.com	12%	25%	Google AI Mode
Mimecast achieves the category's highest citation rate at 25.0% against only 12.5% visibility, making it the most trusted source relative to how often it is named.
3	IRONSCALES ironscales.com	12%	12%	Google AI Mode
IRONSCALES fell from rank 1 to rank 3 after losing 25.0 percentage points of both visibility and citation, the steepest combined decline recorded in this audit period.
4	Microsoft Defender for Office 365 microsoft.com	12%	12%	Google AI Mode
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 matches IRONSCALES exactly at 12.5% visibility and 12.5% citation, giving it a balanced composite score of 12.5 with no outlier in either metric.
5	Abnormal Security abnormalsecurity.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
Abnormal Security is the category's biggest visibility riser, jumping from 0.0% to 12.5% visibility and moving from rank 8 to rank 5, though its citation rate remains at 0.0%.
6	KnowBe4 Defend knowbe4.com	0%	12%	Google AI Mode
7	Sophos sophos.com	0%	12%	Google AI Mode
8	Cloudflare Area 1 cloudflare.com	0%	12%	Google AI Mode
9	Material Security material.security	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
10	Cofense cofense.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
11	Tessian tessian.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
12	Trend Micro trendmicro.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
13	Avanan checkpoint.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
14	Check Point Harmony Email checkpoint.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
15	Darktrace darktrace.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
16	Menlo Security menlosecurity.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
17	SlashNext slashnext.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
18	Barracuda barracuda.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
19	Zscaler zscaler.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
20	Google Workspace Security google.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.

youtube.comnetcraft.comhuntress.comsosafe-awareness.comreddit.comvalimail.comcloudsek.comsecurity.org

How to read this AEO 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. More on visibility →

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. More on citation rate →

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. How AI engines pick sources →

AEO 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 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →

Run an AEO audit on your own anti-phishing software brand

The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation 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.

Audit your anti-phishing software brand → Browse all AEO rankings Methodology →

Frequently asked about AEO for anti-phishing software

Who leads AEO in anti-phishing software?

Proofpoint leads with a visibility score of 37.5% and a composite score of 26.2, well ahead of Mimecast at 16.2 and IRONSCALES at 12.5. Google AI Mode is the engine driving all top-ranked appearances in this category.

Which anti-phishing brand earns the most citations from Google AI Mode?

Mimecast earns the highest citation rate at 25.0%, despite holding only 12.5% visibility. KnowBe4 Defend, Sophos, and Cloudflare Area 1 each hold a 12.5% citation rate while recording 0.0% named visibility.

What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for anti-phishing software research?

The top cited sources are youtube.com, netcraft.com, huntress.com, sosafe-awareness.com, reddit.com, valimail.com, cloudsek.com, and security.org. Vendor-owned domains are notably absent from this list.

Which brand has shown the biggest AEO movement in this audit period?

IRONSCALES is the biggest faller, dropping from rank 1 to rank 3 with a 25.0 percentage point loss in both visibility and citation. Abnormal Security is the biggest riser, gaining 12.5 percentage points of visibility to move from rank 8 to rank 5.

What does the gap between visibility and citation scores mean for AEO strategy in this category?

A brand can be named frequently by Google AI Mode without its domain being cited as a source, as Proofpoint and Abnormal Security both illustrate with 0.0% citation despite positive visibility. Earning third-party coverage on the sources Google AI Mode already anchors on appears more effective for citation than relying on owned-domain content alone.

How concentrated is AEO competition in the anti-phishing software category?

Competition is highly concentrated: the top brand holds 37.5% visibility while the category average is just 4.4%, and all 20 brands in the audit share Google AI Mode as their single top engine. Nine of the top 10 brands score below 13 on the composite scale.