Phishing simulation software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank phishing simulation 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. Phishing simulation platforms used to train employees, run realistic attack drills, and reduce human risk across email-driven security programs. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Refreshed Jun 13, 2026Download this ranking as a PDF
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At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
KnowBe4 dominates this category with a visibility score of 50.0%, more than eleven times the category average of 4.4%. Its composite score of 46.2 is more than double that of second-placed Hoxhunt at 21.2. This gap is significant because it means Google AI Mode is constructing most phishing simulation responses around a single brand, leaving the remaining 19 brands to compete for the residual share of AI-generated answers.
Wizer and Ironscales illustrate a clear divergence between visibility and citation. Wizer has a visibility score of 12.5% but a citation rate of 25.0%, while Ironscales has zero visibility yet a citation rate of 25.0%. This means Ironscales and Living Security are referenced as trusted sources in AI-generated answers without being named as featured brands, making them cited but largely invisible in terms of direct brand mentions within responses.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in this dataset, indicating the audit is heavily anchored on that single engine. Among third-party sources, reddit.com appears first in the cited sources list, alongside gartner.com and vendor domains including knowbe4.com, ironscales.com, and livingsecurity.com. The presence of smaller or niche domains such as adaptivesecurity.com, cloudsek.com, and defendify.com suggests AI is drawing on a broad mix of community and vendor content rather than relying solely on established analyst outlets.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
KnowBe4 0% → 50% · rank #0 → #1+50pp
-
Hoxhunt 0% → 25% · rank #0 → #2+25pp
-
Wizer 0% → 12% · rank #0 → #3+12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
knowbe4.com
|
50% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
KnowBe4 leads with 50.0% visibility and 37.5% citation, both far above the category averages of 4.4% and 6.2%, making it the dominant brand in AI-generated phishing simulation responses. |
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| 2 |
hoxhunt.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Hoxhunt sits at rank 2 with 25.0% visibility and 12.5% citation, scoring well above category averages but with a citation rate that lags its visibility by a notable 12.5 percentage points. |
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| 3 |
wizer-training.com
|
12% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Wizer's citation rate of 25.0% actually exceeds its visibility score of 12.5%, indicating it is referenced as a source more often than it is named as a featured brand in AI responses. |
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| 4 |
ironscales.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Ironscales holds a 25.0% citation rate despite zero visibility, meaning it appears in AI source references but receives no direct brand mentions in generated answers. |
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| 5 |
livingsecurity.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Living Security mirrors Ironscales exactly with 0.0% visibility and 25.0% citation, tying for rank 5 and sharing the same pattern of source presence without brand-level AI recognition. |
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| 6 |
proofpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
cofense.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
hooksecurity.co
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
infosecinstitute.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
mimecast.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
barracuda.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
fortra.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
safetitan.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
usecure.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
phished.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
microsoft.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
cyberhoot.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
metacompliance.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
sosafe-awareness.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
keepnetlabs.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on phishing simulation 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 phishing simulation 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 phishing simulation software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in phishing simulation software?
KnowBe4 leads with a visibility score of 50.0% and a composite score of 46.2, which is more than double the score of second-placed Hoxhunt at 21.2.
What is the average AI visibility for brands in this category?
The category average visibility is 4.4% and the average citation rate is 6.2%, with most brands in the dataset scoring zero on both metrics.
Which brands are cited by AI but not prominently named in phishing simulation answers?
Ironscales and Living Security both have citation rates of 25.0% but zero visibility, meaning they appear as referenced sources without being featured as named brands in AI responses.
What sources does AI cite most for phishing simulation software research?
The top cited sources include reddit.com, gartner.com, and vendor domains such as knowbe4.com, ironscales.com, and livingsecurity.com, alongside smaller sites like adaptivesecurity.com and cloudsek.com.
Which AI engine is most influential for phishing simulation software visibility?
Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every brand in the dataset, making it the sole engine driving AI visibility outcomes in this category audit.
How concentrated is AI visibility in the phishing simulation software category?
Visibility is highly concentrated, with KnowBe4 alone accounting for 50.0% and the remaining 19 brands sharing the rest, while 15 of the 20 brands tracked show zero visibility.