Secure access service edge platforms: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank secure access service edge platforms 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. SASE platforms used to combine secure networking, zero-trust access, SWG, CASB, and branch connectivity into a cloud-delivered security stack. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Refreshed Jun 11, 2026Download this ranking as a PDF
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At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
Fortinet leads the SASE platform category with a composite score of 40.0, more than double the second-ranked Prisma Access at 18.8. Its 25.0% visibility score is the highest in the category against an average of just 3.8%, meaning most brands are effectively invisible in AI-generated responses. Fortinet also holds a 75.0% citation rate, the highest recorded, confirming that its dominance is consistent across both named mentions and sourced references. The gap between first and second place is substantial enough to represent a structural advantage rather than a marginal one.
Prisma Access presents the sharpest divergence between citation and visibility in the dataset. It holds a 62.5% citation rate, the second highest overall, yet records 0.0% visibility, meaning Google AI Mode references Palo Alto Networks content without surfacing Prisma Access as a named answer. Cisco Secure Access and Cloudflare One share a similar pattern, both at 0.0% visibility but 37.5% citation. This suggests these brands are trusted sources informing AI responses but are not being positioned as direct answers to category queries.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, confirming the audit is anchored entirely on that single engine. The top cited sources include gartner.com, paloaltonetworks.com, fortinet.com, netskope.com, and reddit.com, indicating the AI draws on a mix of analyst, vendor, and community content. Vendor domains appearing directly in the cited sources list, specifically fortinet.com and netskope.com, correlates with those brands achieving above-average visibility scores. Gartner appearing at the top of the source list suggests analyst-tier content carries significant weight in how the AI constructs SASE responses.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
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Netskope 0% → 12% · rank #10 → #3+12pp
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Aryaka 0% → 12% · rank #20 → #6+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
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Zscaler 38% → 12% · rank #1 → #4-25pp
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Check Point 25% → 0% · rank #4 → #10-25pp
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Prisma Access 12% → 0% · rank #5 → #2-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
fortinet.com
|
25% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
Fortinet leads all 20 brands with a composite score of 40.0, a visibility of 25.0% against a category average of 3.8%, and the highest citation rate at 75.0%. |
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| 2 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
0% | 62% | Google AI Mode |
Prisma Access holds a 62.5% citation rate but 0.0% visibility, the widest citation-to-visibility gap in the dataset, indicating AI trust without direct named surfacing. |
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| 3 |
netskope.com
|
12% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Netskope is the biggest mover by rank, climbing from 10th to 3rd with visibility rising from 0.0% to 12.5% and citation rate also gaining 12.5 percentage points. |
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| 4 |
zscaler.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Zscaler fell from rank 1 to rank 4 with visibility dropping 25.0 percentage points from 37.5% to 12.5%, making it the steepest visibility faller in the period. |
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| 5 |
catonetworks.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Cato Networks holds rank 5 with a composite score of 12.5, matching Zscaler and Aryaka, and sits at exactly the category average citation rate of 12.5%. |
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| 6 |
aryaka.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
cisco.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
cloudflare.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
forcepoint.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
nordlayer.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
versa-networks.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
twingate.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
iboss.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
citrix.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
hpe.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
broadcom.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
skyhighsecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
perimeter81.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
open-systems.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on secure access service edge platforms, 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 secure access service edge platforms 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 secure access service edge platforms AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in the SASE platform category?
Fortinet leads with a composite score of 40.0, a visibility rate of 25.0%, and a citation rate of 75.0%, all substantially above the category averages of 3.8% and 16.9% respectively.
Which SASE brands are cited frequently but rarely named as direct answers?
Prisma Access has a 62.5% citation rate but 0.0% visibility, and Cisco Secure Access and Cloudflare One both show 37.5% citation with 0.0% visibility, indicating AI uses their content without surfacing them as primary answers.
What sources does Google AI Mode anchor on most for SASE research?
The top cited sources are gartner.com, paloaltonetworks.com, fortinet.com, netskope.com, and reddit.com, combining analyst, vendor, and community content.
Which SASE brands have seen the largest AI visibility gains recently?
Netskope rose from rank 10 to rank 3 and Aryaka rose from rank 20 to rank 6, both moving from 0.0% to 12.5% visibility with matching citation gains of 12.5 percentage points.
Which SASE brands have lost the most AI visibility?
Zscaler lost 25.0 percentage points of visibility, falling from rank 1 to rank 4, and Check Point lost 25.0 percentage points, dropping from rank 4 to rank 10 with visibility falling to 0.0%.
How concentrated is AI visibility across the 20 SASE brands in this audit?
Visibility is highly concentrated, with a category average of just 3.8% and only four brands recording any visibility at all, those being Fortinet, Netskope, Zscaler, and Cato Networks, each at 12.5% or above.