Cybersecurity awareness training platforms: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank cybersecurity awareness training platforms 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. Cybersecurity awareness training platforms used to educate employees, simulate phishing attacks, and strengthen human-layer security across organizations. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When buyers inquire about cybersecurity awareness training platforms, AI engines consistently point to Hoxhunt as the industry leader. Hoxhunt is recognized alongside other top brands like KnowBe4 and Proofpoint. Hoxhunt's name appears in 25% of relevant queries, making it a standout choice for those looking at visibility metrics.
The current rankings reflect patterns seen in citations from leading sources. Domains like hoxhunt.com and gartner.com significantly influence this landscape, often appearing in the search results where AI engines pull their data. With Reddit and Guardey also contributing, these aggregators shape perceptions by pooling broader user reviews.
For a buyer, this highlights the value AI engines place on recent reviews and third-party validation. When picking a platform, buyers should consider the topical authority these engines emphasize regarding each specific subcategory. Evaluating reviews on platforms like Reddit and Gartner can provide unbiased insights into how these solutions perform in real-world scenarios.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Hoxhunt leads the category with a composite score of 40.0, meaningfully ahead of KnowBe4 at 28.8 and Proofpoint at 17.5. All three share identical visibility of 25.0%, so the gap at the top is driven entirely by citation rate: Hoxhunt is cited in 75.0% of responses versus KnowBe4 at 37.5% and Proofpoint at 0.0%. With a category average visibility of just 5.0%, these three brands are the only ones breaking through on that dimension, making the citation divergence between them the decisive factor in ranking.
A clear divergence exists between named brands and trusted sources in this category. Proofpoint appears in 25.0% of AI responses but receives zero citations, suggesting AI describes it without linking to it. Conversely, usecure and Curricula hold 0.0% visibility yet each carry 37.5% citation rates, meaning AI references their domains as sources without featuring them in named recommendations. This pattern suggests some brands are functioning as background reference material rather than foregrounded recommendations, a structurally different kind of AI presence.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in this dataset, indicating the entire category's AI visibility picture is shaped by a single engine. The cited sources list includes hoxhunt.com alongside reddit.com, gartner.com, guardey.com, and phished.io, suggesting AI is anchoring on a mix of vendor sites, analyst platforms, and community forums. The presence of reddit.com and smaller vendor domains like guardey.com and phished.io in top cited sources indicates AI is drawing on diverse content types beyond the major brand websites.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
NINJIO 0% → 12% · rank #14 → #4+12pp
-
Mimecast 0% → 12% · rank #9 → #7+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
KnowBe4 50% → 25% · rank #1 → #2-25pp
-
usecure 25% → 0% · rank #2 → #5-25pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
hoxhunt.com
|
25% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
Hoxhunt leads with a 40.0 composite score, achieving a citation rate of 75.0% that is more than double KnowBe4's 37.5% despite identical visibility of 25.0%. |
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| 2 |
knowbe4.com
|
25% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
KnowBe4 fell from rank 1 with visibility dropping 25 points to 25.0%, though its citation rate actually rose 12.5 points to 37.5%, widening its citation lead over Proofpoint. |
||||
| 3 |
proofpoint.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Proofpoint matches Hoxhunt and KnowBe4 on visibility at 25.0% but holds a 0.0% citation rate, the sharpest visibility-to-citation gap among all ranked brands. |
||||
| 4 |
ninjio.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
NINJIO is the category's biggest mover, jumping 10 places from rank 14 to rank 4 with visibility rising from 0.0% to 12.5% and citation rate also gaining 12.5 points. |
||||
| 5 |
usecure.io
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
usecure dropped from rank 2 to rank 5 with visibility falling to 0.0%, yet retains a 37.5% citation rate, placing it in the cited-but-not-named segment alongside Curricula. |
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| 6 |
huntress.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
mimecast.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cybeready.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
wizer-training.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
terranovasecurity.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
livingsecurity.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
cofense.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
infosecinstitute.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
hooksecurity.co
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
riotsecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
metacompliance.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
keepnetlabs.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
safetitan.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
sophos.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
microsoft.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on cybersecurity awareness training platforms, 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. 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 →
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. How AI search ranking works →
Get your own cybersecurity awareness training platforms 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 cybersecurity awareness training platforms AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in cybersecurity awareness training platforms?
Hoxhunt leads with a composite score of 40.0, driven by a 75.0% citation rate that is the highest in the category. It shares 25.0% visibility with KnowBe4 and Proofpoint but separates itself entirely on citations.
What is the average AI visibility for brands in this category?
The category average visibility is just 5.0% and the average citation rate is 13.1%, indicating that most of the 20 tracked brands have minimal presence in AI-generated responses.
Which brands are cited by AI but not prominently named in responses?
usecure and Curricula both show 0.0% visibility but 37.5% citation rates each, meaning AI references their domains as sources without featuring them as named recommendations.
What sources does AI cite most for cybersecurity awareness training research?
The top cited sources include hoxhunt.com, reddit.com, gartner.com, guardey.com, and phished.io, reflecting a mix of vendor sites, analyst platforms, and community forums.
Which brands have seen the biggest recent shifts in AI visibility?
NINJIO rose 10 places from rank 14 to rank 4 with a 12.5-point visibility gain, while KnowBe4 and usecure each lost 25 visibility points, the largest drops recorded in this audit period.
Which AI engine dominates visibility for this category?
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, meaning the entire category's AI visibility landscape is currently shaped by a single engine with no recorded variation across other platforms.