DNS filtering software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank dns filtering 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. DNS filtering software used to block malicious domains, enforce web policies, reduce phishing risk, and secure users on and off corporate networks. 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 DNS filtering software, AI engines frequently highlight DNSFilter as a clear leader, often alongside Control D and Cisco Umbrella. DNSFilter's visibility is unmatched, appearing in 100% of relevant AI responses. This indicates its significant presence and recognition among AI sources.
The ranking of brands reflects AI engines' reliance on specific sources. These engines frequently draw information from domains like controld.com, dnsfilter.com, and user community sites such as reddit.com and community.spiceworks.com. Aggregator and user review sites contribute to understanding the industry's landscape by gathering diverse feedback and evaluations.
For buyers, this means considering brands that AI engines value for their strong visibility and credibility. Prioritize options like DNSFilter, which not only lead in AI mentions but also benefit from recent reviews and broad validation across trusted platforms. This enhances confidence in choosing a DNS filtering solution that stands out within its specific subcategory.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
DNSFilter holds the only perfect visibility score in this category at 100%, against a category average of 15%. Its composite score of 92.5 places it 22.5 points ahead of second-ranked Control D at 70.0. Both brands also recorded a visibility delta of 50 percentage points in the current period, meaning the leader is pulling further ahead while simultaneously consolidating its citation position. The gap between rank one and the rest of the 20-brand field is the most defining structural feature of this category's AI visibility landscape.
The divergence between visibility and citation rates is most acute at ranks two and three. Control D sits at rank two with a citation rate of 87.5%, the highest in the dataset, yet its visibility is only 62.5%, suggesting AI surfaces it as a trusted source even when it does not name it prominently. Cisco Umbrella mirrors the opposite pattern, matching Control D on visibility at 62.5% but holding a citation rate of only 12.5%. TitanHQ presents the most extreme divergence, recording 0% visibility alongside a 50% citation rate.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, confirming that this category's AI visibility battle is concentrated on a single platform. The top cited sources list includes community and forum properties, specifically reddit.com and community.spiceworks.com, alongside brand domains. This indicates that AI responses in this category are anchored on practitioner discussion content, not just vendor sites. Twingate.com and youtube.com also appear in the cited sources list, neither of which are DNS filtering vendors, pointing to broad reference behaviour in AI answers.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
DNSFilter 50% → 100% · rank #1 → #1+50pp
-
Control D 12% → 62% · rank #2 → #2+50pp
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WebTitan 0% → 50% · rank #10 → #4+50pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
CleanBrowsing 12% → 0% · rank #5 → #8-12pp
-
Cloudflare Gateway 12% → 0% · rank #6 → #10-12pp
-
OpenDNS 12% → 0% · rank #7 → #16-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
dnsfilter.com
|
100% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
DNSFilter leads at 100% visibility and a 92.5 composite score, more than 37 points clear of the next brand, with citation up 12.5 points this period. |
||||
| 2 |
controld.com
|
62% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Control D has the highest citation rate in the dataset at 87.5%, yet its visibility of 62.5% trails DNSFilter by 37.5 percentage points. |
||||
| 3 |
cisco.com
|
62% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Cisco Umbrella matches Control D on visibility at 62.5% but its citation rate of 12.5% is among the lowest in the top five, a notable credibility gap. |
||||
| 4 |
webtitan.com
|
50% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
WebTitan rose six rank positions this period with a 50-point visibility increase from 0% to 50%, but its citation rate remains at 0%. |
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| 5 |
titanhq.com
|
0% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
TitanHQ records 0% visibility yet a 50% citation rate, the sharpest named-versus-trusted divergence in the entire top five. |
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| 6 |
scoutdns.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
safedns.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cleanbrowsing.org
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
heimdalsecurity.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
cloudflare.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
infoblox.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
bluecatnetworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
quad9.net
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
fortinet.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
opendns.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
adguard-dns.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
nextdns.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
akamai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
cira.ca
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on dns filtering 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. 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 dns filtering 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 dns filtering software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in DNS filtering software?
DNSFilter leads with a perfect visibility score of 100% and a composite score of 92.5, more than 37 points ahead of second-ranked Control D. The category average visibility is only 15%, so the gap between DNSFilter and the field is very wide.
Which DNS filtering brand is cited most often by AI even when not prominently named?
TitanHQ has a citation rate of 50% despite a visibility score of 0%, meaning AI responses reference its domain as a source without naming the brand in answers. Control D also shows this pattern, with the highest citation rate overall at 87.5% against a visibility of 62.5%.
What sources does Google AI Mode anchor on for DNS filtering category research?
The top cited sources include brand domains controld.com and dnsfilter.com alongside community sites reddit.com and community.spiceworks.com. Non-vendor domains twingate.com and youtube.com also appear in the cited sources list.
Which DNS filtering brands have lost the most AI visibility recently?
Cloudflare Gateway fell four rank positions and OpenDNS fell nine rank positions, both dropping to 0% current visibility from 12.5% previously. CleanBrowsing also dropped three places with both visibility and citation falling by 12.5 points.
Which brands showed the biggest AI visibility gains in this period?
DNSFilter, Control D, and WebTitan each recorded a visibility delta of plus 50 percentage points. WebTitan's gain is the most structurally significant, rising from 0% to 50% visibility and moving from rank ten to rank four.
Is AI visibility in DNS filtering concentrated on one engine?
Yes, Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every brand in the dataset, indicating that AI-driven brand exposure in this category is driven almost entirely by a single platform.