AEO for device trust software: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank device trust 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. Security tools used to verify device posture, identity, and compliance before granting access to company apps and data. 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 ask AI engines about Device trust software, Okta emerges as the leader with impressive visibility at 62.5%. Other notable brands in this space include Cisco Duo and Microsoft Entra. These insights often guide buyers looking to make informed decisions on which solutions to consider.
The rankings of these brands are influenced by the sources that AI engines frequently reference. Sites like 1password.com, youtube.com, duo.com, cybersectools.com, and g2.com are top-cited, with some being aggregators or review sites. This suggests the importance of peer reviews and expert opinions in determining brand visibility.
For buyers evaluating their options, it's essential to look at recent reviews and seek third-party validation. AI engines value topical authority and fresh perspectives, especially in specific subcategories of device trust. Keep these factors in mind to make a choice that aligns with validated expertise and current market trends.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Okta leads the device trust software category with a composite score of 62.5, exactly 12.5 points ahead of second-placed Cisco Duo at 50.0. That gap is meaningful because both visibility and citation align perfectly for Okta, suggesting consistent AI treatment across query types. The category average visibility sits at just 7.5 percent, which means Okta and Cisco Duo are the only two brands performing materially above the norm. Every other brand in the top 10 scores below 33, making the top tier effectively a two-brand race.
Microsoft Entra presents the clearest visibility-to-citation divergence in the data. Its citation rate of 50.0 percent is double its visibility rate of 25.0 percent, producing a composite of only 32.5. Scalefusion and Hexnode follow the same pattern: Scalefusion is cited at 37.5 percent yet visible at just 12.5 percent, and Hexnode holds a 37.5 percent citation rate while registering zero visibility. These three brands are referenced in AI-generated answers but are not named prominently as recommended solutions, a meaningful distinction for any analyst tracking brand authority.
All top brands share Google AI Mode as their top engine, confirming that this audit's signals are anchored entirely on that single surface. The top cited external sources include help.okta.com, okta.com, and duo.com, which correlates directly with the rank-one and rank-two positions. Third-party aggregators such as g2.com and cybersectools.com also appear in the cited source list, alongside pingidentity.com and 1password.com, brands not ranked in the top 10, indicating that AI is drawing supporting context from adjacent identity and access management sources.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Okta 0% → 62% · rank #6 → #1+62pp
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Cisco Duo 0% → 50% · rank #3 → #2+50pp
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Microsoft Entra 0% → 25% · rank #11 → #3+25pp
Biggest visibility fallers
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Hexnode 12% → 0% · rank #1 → #5-12pp
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JumpCloud 12% → 0% · rank #2 → #16-12pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
okta.com
|
62% | 62% | Google AI Mode |
Okta leads with a composite score of 62.5, more than 8 times the category average visibility of 7.5, with visibility and citation rates in perfect parity at 62.5 percent each. |
||||
| 2 |
duo.com
|
50% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
Cisco Duo sits 12.5 points behind Okta on both visibility and citation at 50.0 percent, making it the only other brand with above-average visibility in a field where most score zero. |
||||
| 3 |
microsoft.com
|
25% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
Microsoft Entra's citation rate of 50.0 percent is exactly double its visibility rate of 25.0 percent, the widest named-versus-trusted gap among any ranked brand in this category. |
||||
| 4 |
scalefusion.com
|
12% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Scalefusion is cited at 37.5 percent but achieves only 12.5 percent visibility, placing it fourth overall despite a composite score of 20.0 that trails Entra by more than 12 points. |
||||
| 5 |
hexnode.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Hexnode holds a 37.5 percent citation rate yet has zero visibility, and it has fallen from rank 1 to rank 5 after losing 12.5 visibility points since the previous measurement period. |
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| 6 |
jamf.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
ivanti.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
beyondidentity.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
securew2.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
cloud.google.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
threatlocker.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
silverfort.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
mosyle.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
crowdstrike.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
kandji.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
jumpcloud.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
kolide.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
vmware.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
tailscale.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
beyondtrust.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on device trust 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 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 device trust 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.
Frequently asked about AEO for device trust software
Who leads AI visibility in device trust software?
Okta leads with a composite score of 62.5 and a visibility rate of 62.5 percent, far ahead of the category average of 7.5 percent. Cisco Duo is the only other brand with meaningful visibility at 50.0 percent.
What is the gap between the top brand and the category average in this space?
Okta's visibility of 62.5 percent is 55 points above the category average of 7.5 percent, indicating heavy concentration of AI attention at the very top of the rankings.
Which brands are cited frequently but not named as top solutions by AI?
Microsoft Entra, Scalefusion, and Hexnode all have citation rates between 37.5 and 50.0 percent but visibility rates of 25.0 percent or lower, showing they are referenced but not prominently recommended.
What sources does AI cite most for device trust software research?
The top cited sources include help.okta.com, okta.com, duo.com, g2.com, cybersectools.com, pingidentity.com, 1password.com, and youtube.com, blending vendor documentation with third-party review and identity-adjacent content.
Which brands have risen the most in AI visibility recently?
Okta gained 62.5 visibility points to move from rank 6 to rank 1, Microsoft Entra moved from rank 11 to rank 3, and Cisco Duo gained 50.0 visibility points, all from a previous baseline of zero.
Which engine drives AI visibility in the device trust software category?
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand ranked in this category, meaning all visibility and citation signals in this audit are sourced exclusively from that single surface.