Identity threat detection and response software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank identity threat detection and response 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 detect identity-based attacks, risky authentication patterns, privilege abuse, and lateral movement. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
SentinelOne and CrowdStrike share the top visibility position at 25.0% each, far above the category average of 3.1%. SentinelOne rose six rank positions in the current period, moving from rank 7 to rank 1, while also gaining a 12.5% citation rate. CrowdStrike, despite matching SentinelOne on visibility, holds 0.0% citations, meaning the gap between these two brands is less about name recognition in AI responses and more about whether the AI treats their content as a trusted source.
Huntress presents the most striking divergence between visibility and citation in this dataset. It holds 0.0% visibility yet leads all brands on citation rate at 37.5%, and its domain appears directly in the top cited sources list. This pattern suggests Google AI Mode references Huntress content as an authoritative source without naming the brand prominently in its generated answers. Microsoft Defender and Proofpoint both register citations (12.5% and 12.5% respectively) while Microsoft also holds 12.5% visibility, making it the most balanced performer in the top five.
Every brand in this audit lists Google AI Mode as its top engine, confirming that visibility in this category is currently a single-engine story. The cited sources list anchors heavily on analyst and vendor content, with gartner.com appearing first, followed by huntress.com, reco.ai, sophos.com, netwrix.com, microsoft.com, guardz.com, and sentinelone.com. Notably, CrowdStrike does not appear in the top cited sources despite its 25.0% visibility score, while Huntress and SentinelOne both appear, reinforcing the visibility-versus-citation split observed across the top five.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
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SentinelOne 0% → 25% · rank #7 → #1+25pp
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CrowdStrike 0% → 25% · rank #1 → #2+25pp
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Microsoft Defender 0% → 12% · rank #2 → #3+12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
sentinelone.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
SentinelOne leads with 25.0% visibility and 12.5% citation, both above category averages of 3.1% and 3.8%, and its domain appears in the top cited sources list. |
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| 2 |
crowdstrike.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
CrowdStrike matches SentinelOne at 25.0% visibility but holds 0.0% citation, meaning it is named in AI responses yet its domain is not among the top cited sources. |
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| 3 |
microsoft.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Microsoft Defender sits at 12.5% visibility and 12.5% citation, making it the only brand outside the top two to register meaningful scores on both metrics simultaneously. |
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| 4 |
huntress.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Huntress records 0.0% visibility but the highest citation rate in the dataset at 37.5%, and its domain ranks second in the top cited sources list behind gartner.com. |
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| 5 |
proofpoint.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Proofpoint holds 0.0% visibility and 12.5% citation, giving it a composite score of 3.8, just above the category citation average but below every higher-ranked brand. |
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| 6 |
silverfort.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
semperis.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cyberark.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
varonis.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
okta.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
duo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
trellix.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
rapid7.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
secureauth.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
beyondtrust.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
securonix.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
exabeam.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
permiso.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
reveal.security
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
pingidentity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on identity threat detection and response 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 identity threat detection and response 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 identity threat detection and response software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in identity threat detection and response software?
SentinelOne and CrowdStrike are tied at 25.0% visibility, both well above the category average of 3.1%. SentinelOne ranks first overall due to a higher composite score of 21.2 versus CrowdStrike's 17.5, driven by its 12.5% citation rate compared to CrowdStrike's 0.0%.
Which brand is cited most often by Google AI Mode in this category?
Huntress has the highest citation rate in the dataset at 37.5%, despite holding 0.0% visibility, and its domain (huntress.com) appears second in the top cited sources list.
What sources does AI cite most for identity threat detection and response research?
The top cited sources in order are gartner.com, huntress.com, reco.ai, sophos.com, netwrix.com, microsoft.com, guardz.com, and sentinelone.com. Analyst content from Gartner anchors the list, followed by several vendor domains.
Which brands have visibility but no citations in this category?
CrowdStrike is the clearest example, holding 25.0% visibility but 0.0% citation rate, and its domain does not appear in the top cited sources list.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the 20 brands in this category?
Visibility is highly concentrated: only three brands register any visibility at all (SentinelOne, CrowdStrike, and Microsoft Defender), while the remaining 17 brands including CyberArk, Okta, and Varonis all sit at 0.0%.
Which engine drives AI visibility for brands in this category?
Every brand in the audit lists Google AI Mode as its top engine, indicating that AI visibility in this category is currently generated almost entirely through a single platform.