AEO for runtime application self-protection: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank runtime application self-protection 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. RASP tools used to detect and block attacks from inside running applications without relying only on perimeter defenses. 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 potential buyers ask AI engines about Runtime application self-protection, Imperva often leads the conversation. Imperva holds a visibility percentage of 37.5, distinguishing itself from its competitors. Other notable brands like Appdome and Waratek also frequently appear in answers, but with less prominence than Imperva.
The current rankings are influenced by AI engines pulling from top-cited sources such as google.com, reddit.com, and g2.com. Many of these are aggregator or review sites, where user opinions and aggregated expert reviews drive the narrative, offering a collective judgment on these brands.
For buyers, this ranking suggests that recent reviews and third-party validation heavily influence AI engines' responses. When choosing from the list, consider how a brand maintains topical authority and actively engages in the specific subcategory of Runtime application self-protection.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Imperva holds the dominant AEO position in the runtime application self-protection category with 37.5% visibility, nearly three times the 12.5% held by the next three brands (Appdome, Waratek, and Veracode). That gap is significant because Imperva recently rose from rank 3 to rank 1, gaining 12.5 visibility points in the latest period. With a composite score of 26.2 against the category average visibility of just 3.8%, the concentration of AI-surfaced mentions around a single brand suggests this category's answer engine presence is highly asymmetric.
A notable divergence between visibility and citation defines this category's AEO pattern. Contrast Security sits at rank 5 with zero visibility yet holds a 25% citation rate, meaning Google AI Mode references it as a trusted source even while not naming it prominently in direct answers. Conversely, Imperva, Appdome, Waratek, and Veracode all show zero citation despite meaningful visibility scores. This split suggests named presence and cited authority are rewarded by different signals in this category.
Google AI Mode is the dominant engine across all 20 brands in this audit, with no other engine registering as a top performer for any brand. The cited sources Google AI Mode anchors on include third-party review platforms (g2.com), community forums (reddit.com), competitor editorial content (fortinet.com, crowdstrike.com), and niche security resources (appsecsanta.com). Contrastsecurity.com and digital.ai also appear as cited sources, reinforcing the pattern that brands can influence AI outputs through content that earns third-party citations rather than direct brand page mentions.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Imperva 25% → 38% · rank #3 → #1+12pp
-
Waratek 0% → 12% · rank #15 → #3+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Datadog 38% → 0% · rank #2 → #19-38pp
-
Contrast Security 25% → 0% · rank #1 → #5-25pp
-
Signal Sciences 25% → 0% · rank #4 → #13-25pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
imperva.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Imperva leads with 37.5% visibility, ten times the 3.8% category average, after rising two rank positions and gaining 12.5 visibility points in the latest period. |
||||
| 2 |
appdome.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Appdome shares a 12.5% visibility score and 8.8 composite score with ranks 3 and 4, indicating no differentiated AEO signal separating these three brands currently. |
||||
| 3 |
waratek.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Waratek is the biggest rank riser in the category, jumping from rank 15 to rank 3 with a 12.5 percentage point visibility gain from a previous baseline of zero. |
||||
| 4 |
veracode.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Veracode matches Appdome and Waratek with 12.5% visibility and an 8.8 composite score, but carries no citation presence to differentiate its AEO authority from those peers. |
||||
| 5 |
contrastsecurity.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Contrast Security has zero visibility after falling from rank 1, yet retains a 25% citation rate, the highest in the top five, making it a cited source rather than a named answer. |
||||
| 6 |
promon.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
jscrambler.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
interpres.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
nowsecure.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
riscure.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
akamai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
opentext.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
fastly.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
pradeo.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
synopsys.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
opentext.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
checkmarx.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
hdivsecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
datadoghq.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
sqreen.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on runtime application self-protection, 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 runtime application self-protection 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 runtime application self-protection
Who leads AEO in runtime application self-protection?
Imperva leads with 37.5% visibility and a composite score of 26.2, having risen from rank 3 to rank 1 in the latest audit period. No other brand comes close, with the next group (Appdome, Waratek, Veracode) each sitting at 12.5% visibility.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for runtime application self-protection research?
The audit shows Google AI Mode anchoring on google.com, reddit.com, g2.com, appsecsanta.com, fortinet.com, crowdstrike.com, contrastsecurity.com, and digital.ai as its primary cited sources in this category.
Can a brand have strong AEO citation presence without appearing in AI-generated answers?
Yes. Contrast Security has zero visibility in Google AI Mode yet holds a 25% citation rate, meaning the AI references its content as a source without naming it as a recommended brand in direct answers.
Which brands lost the most AEO ground in runtime application self-protection recently?
Datadog dropped from rank 2 to rank 19, losing 37.5 visibility points entirely. Contrast Security fell from rank 1 to rank 5, losing 25 visibility points and 12.5 citation points in the same period.
How concentrated is AEO visibility in the runtime application self-protection category?
It is highly concentrated. Imperva alone holds 37.5% visibility while the category average across all 20 brands is just 3.8%, and six of the top ten brands record zero visibility and zero citations.
Is Google AI Mode the only engine that matters for AEO in this category?
Based on the audit data, Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every single brand across all 20 audited, with no other engine appearing as a top performer for any brand in this category.