DNS security software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank dns security 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. Security platforms used to filter malicious domains, protect DNS traffic, enforce policy, and reduce phishing and malware exposure. 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 security software, AI engines consistently highlight DNSFilter as the leader. With a visibility percentage of 50.0, DNSFilter is the most frequently mentioned brand. Other top brands include Control D and Cisco Umbrella. These insights are drawn from how often AI engines like ChatGPT and Google AI refer to these brands in their responses.
The rankings reflect information primarily drawn from frequently cited sources such as controld.com, youtube.com, and dnsfilter.com. Many of these are official sites or leading aggregators, meaning they offer comprehensive reviews and comparisons across products. This collective wisdom shapes the AI engines' ability to accurately assess and suggest the top options in DNS security software.
For buyers consulting this page, it is crucial to consider how AI engines prioritize recent reviews, third-party validations, and the topical authority on specific subcategories. The top-ranked brands often receive thorough evaluations in these respected sources, pointing to their reliability and capability. Selecting software with strong endorsements from AI-endorsed resources provides added confidence in the decision-making process.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
DNSFilter leads the DNS security software category with a composite score of 57.5, built on 50% visibility and 75% citation rate, both well above the category averages of 7.5% and 12.5% respectively. Cisco Umbrella matches DNSFilter on visibility at 50% but scores only 12.5% on citations, producing a composite of 38.8 versus DNSFilter's 57.5. That 18.7-point composite gap between first and third place signals a meaningful concentration of AI authority at the very top of the category.
Control D presents the clearest divergence between visibility and citation in the dataset. It holds only 25% visibility yet matches DNSFilter's 75% citation rate, suggesting AI systems reference its domain as a source even when not surfacing it as a named recommendation. SafeDNS shows the inverse pattern: 0% visibility but 37.5% citation, meaning it appears in sourced content but never as a featured brand in responses. These two cases show that being cited and being named are distinct outcomes in this category.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, indicating the audit data is anchored almost entirely on that single engine. Among the top cited sources, controld.com and dnsfilter.com appear directly alongside third-party platforms including g2.com, community.spiceworks.com, and reddit.com. The presence of youtube.com and twingate.com in the source list suggests AI is pulling from review aggregators, community forums, and adjacent vendor content rather than solely from brand-owned properties.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Cisco Umbrella 12% → 50% · rank #2 → #3+38pp
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DNSFilter 25% → 50% · rank #1 → #1+25pp
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Control D 0% → 25% · rank #5 → #2+25pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
ScoutDNS 12% → 0% · rank #4 → #7-12pp
-
Cloudflare Gateway 12% → 0% · rank #3 → #10-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
dnsfilter.com
|
50% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
DNSFilter holds a composite score of 57.5, with both visibility (50%) and citation rate (75%) far exceeding the category averages of 7.5% and 12.5%. |
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| 2 |
controld.com
|
25% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
Control D achieves a 75% citation rate matching DNSFilter despite only 25% visibility, and rose three places from rank 5 to rank 2 this period. |
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| 3 |
umbrella.cisco.com
|
50% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Cisco Umbrella matches DNSFilter on 50% visibility but its 12.5% citation rate is 62.5 percentage points lower, producing a composite score of only 38.8. |
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| 4 |
nextdns.io
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
NextDNS sits at a composite score of 12.5, with both visibility and citation at 12.5%, placing it just above the category citation average but below most named peers. |
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| 5 |
safedns.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
SafeDNS records 0% visibility yet a 37.5% citation rate, the largest positive gap between those two metrics among the top 10 brands in the category. |
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| 6 |
quad9.net
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
scoutdns.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
bluecatnetworks.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
titanhq.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
cloudflare.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
infoblox.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
akamai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
proofpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
watchguard.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
webroot.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
comodo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
fortinet.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
zscaler.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
cleanbrowsing.org
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on dns security 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 security 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 security software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in DNS security software?
DNSFilter leads with a composite score of 57.5, driven by 50% visibility and 75% citation rate, both the highest in the category. Its nearest composite competitor is Control D at 40.0.
Which DNS security brand is most cited by AI even without high visibility?
SafeDNS has 0% visibility but a 37.5% citation rate, meaning AI pulls it as a source reference without featuring it as a named recommendation in responses.
What sources does AI cite most for DNS security software research?
The top cited sources include controld.com, dnsfilter.com, g2.com, community.spiceworks.com, and reddit.com, indicating AI draws from a mix of vendor sites, review platforms, and community forums.
Which brands have seen the biggest AI visibility gains recently?
Cisco Umbrella gained 37.5 visibility points, rising from 12.5% to 50%, while Control D moved from 0% to 25% visibility and climbed from rank 5 to rank 2.
Which brands have lost AI visibility in DNS security software?
Cloudflare Gateway fell from rank 3 to rank 10 with a visibility drop to 0%, and ScoutDNS dropped from rank 4 to rank 7 also reaching 0% visibility.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the DNS security software category?
The category average visibility is only 7.5%, while the top two brands hold 50% and 25% respectively, showing strong concentration at the top of the landscape.