Application whitelisting software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank application whitelisting 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. Application whitelisting tools used to control executable access, reduce malware risk, and enforce trusted software policies across managed devices. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Refreshed Jun 11, 2026Download this ranking as a PDF
We'll email it to you. One-off send — no list, no follow-up, no surprise marketing.
At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
Airlock Digital leads the application whitelisting software category with a composite score of 16.2, ahead of ManageEngine Application Control Plus at 12.5 and a cluster of brands tied at 8.8. The gap matters because Airlock Digital is the only brand where citation rate (25.0%) meaningfully exceeds visibility (12.5%), suggesting Google AI Mode treats it not just as a named option but as a trusted reference point. No other brand in the top six achieves this citation-to-visibility ratio.
A sharp divergence between visibility and citation defines this category. ThreatLocker, Carbon Black App Control, Ivanti Application Control, and Faronics Anti-Executable each hold 12.5% visibility but record zero citation, meaning AI responses mention them without anchoring to their domains. Microsoft AppLocker sits at rank 7 with zero visibility yet a 25.0% citation rate, matching Airlock Digital on citations while never being named as a primary recommendation. This named-versus-trusted split is the defining structural pattern in the data.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, indicating the audit is anchored entirely within that single engine. The top cited external sources include reddit.com, youtube.com, and specialist outlets such as huntress.com, blueshiftcyber.com, and startupdefense.io, alongside airlockdigital.com itself. The presence of community and niche cybersecurity sources alongside the brand domain suggests AI Mode is drawing on practitioner discourse rather than vendor marketing pages when constructing responses in this category.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Airlock Digital 0% → 12% · rank #0 → #1+12pp
-
ManageEngine Application Control Plus 0% → 12% · rank #0 → #2+12pp
-
ThreatLocker 0% → 12% · rank #0 → #3+12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
airlockdigital.com
|
12% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Airlock Digital holds the only composite score (16.2) above the tied cluster, driven by a 25.0% citation rate that is double its 12.5% visibility, the strongest citation-to-visibility ratio in the category. |
||||
| 2 |
manageengine.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
ManageEngine matches Airlock Digital on visibility at 12.5% but its citation rate of 12.5% is half that of the leader, producing a composite score of 12.5 versus 16.2. |
||||
| 3 |
threatlocker.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
ThreatLocker shares the 12.5% visibility of the top two brands but records zero citation, placing it in a four-way tie at composite score 8.8, well below the category-leading citation benchmark. |
||||
| 4 |
broadcom.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Carbon Black App Control matches ThreatLocker exactly with 12.5% visibility and 0.0% citation, giving it a composite score of 8.8 and no differentiation from the three brands ranked directly around it. |
||||
| 5 |
ivanti.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Ivanti Application Control sits in the same four-way tie at 8.8 composite score with 12.5% visibility and zero citations, showing no distinguishing signal from Carbon Black or Faronics in AI Mode responses. |
||||
| 6 |
faronics.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
microsoft.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
trellix.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
citrix.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
vmware.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
kaspersky.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
sophos.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
vmware.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
trendmicro.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
fortinet.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
sentinelone.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
broadcom.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
drivelock.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on application whitelisting 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 application whitelisting 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 application whitelisting software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in application whitelisting software?
Airlock Digital leads with a composite score of 16.2, ahead of ManageEngine Application Control Plus at 12.5. Both entered the rankings this audit period from zero previous visibility.
Which brand is cited most often by Google AI Mode in this category?
Airlock Digital and Microsoft AppLocker are tied on citations at 25.0% each. Microsoft AppLocker achieves this with zero visibility, meaning it is referenced by sources without being named as a primary recommendation.
What sources does Google AI Mode anchor on for application whitelisting research?
The top cited sources include reddit.com, youtube.com, huntress.com, blueshiftcyber.com, startupdefense.io, and airlockdigital.com, indicating AI Mode draws heavily on community forums and niche cybersecurity outlets.
How does the category average compare to the top brands?
The category average visibility and citation are both 3.8%, while the top six brands each hold 12.5% visibility, meaning the leaders are running at more than three times the category average.
Which brands have visibility in Google AI Mode but receive no citations?
ThreatLocker, Carbon Black App Control, Ivanti Application Control, and Faronics Anti-Executable all record 12.5% visibility with 0.0% citation, showing they appear in AI responses but are not backed by cited sources.
Is any brand losing AI visibility in this category?
The data records no biggest visibility fallers for this audit period. All movement in the top brands represents new entrants rising from zero previous visibility.