AEO for software supply chain security tools: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank software supply chain security tools 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. Software supply chain security tools used to secure dependencies, provenance, build pipelines, and artifacts across modern development workflows. 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 querying AI engines about Software supply chain security tools, Endor Labs emerges as the clear leader. It holds a visibility percentage of 25.0, a significant margin compared to others. Chainguard and GitHub also rank among the top brands, but they trail behind Endor Labs in how often they are mentioned by AI engines.
The rankings are largely influenced by where AI engines source their information. The top cited sources include a mix of domains such as google.com and gartner.com, alongside others like endorlabs.com and chainguard.dev. This mix means AI engines rely not just on direct brand sites but also on well-regarded aggregator and review platforms.
For buyers, it's crucial to consider what AI engines prioritize when assessing brands. Recent reviews, third-party validation, and a brand's topical authority in Software supply chain security tools significantly impact rankings. When choosing from this list, focus on brands that consistently demonstrate these qualities and regularly engage with expert and review sites.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Endor Labs holds the dominant position in this category with a composite score of 43.8, more than 12 points clear of second-placed Chainguard at 31.2. That gap is driven by both visibility and citation: Endor Labs sits at 25% visibility and 87.5% citation rate, while the category averages are just 5% and 12.5% respectively. The most striking recent shift is Snyk falling from rank 1 to rank 14, losing 37.5 points of visibility and 50 points of citation rate in a single period, which reshapes the competitive landscape entirely.
A sharp divergence between visibility and citation is visible in the mid-tier. GitHub and GitLab both register 25% visibility, matching Endor Labs, yet GitHub's citation rate is only 12.5% and GitLab's is zero. That pattern means these platforms are appearing in AI-generated responses but are rarely linked as authoritative sources. Anchore and JFrog show the inverse, with 0% visibility but 25% citation each, suggesting the AI references them as supporting evidence without naming them as primary recommendations.
Google AI Mode is the sole engine recorded across all 10 ranked brands, confirming this category's AEO performance is entirely shaped by a single engine. The top cited sources list reinforces where the AI anchors its answers: endorlabs.com and chainguard.dev both appear there directly, alongside gartner.com and youtube.com as third-party validators. Smaller specialist domains including arnica.io and minimus.io also feature in cited sources, indicating the AI draws on niche coverage rather than relying only on the largest brand properties.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Endor Labs 12% → 25% · rank #3 → #1+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Snyk 38% → 0% · rank #1 → #14-38pp
-
Mend 38% → 0% · rank #4 → #16-38pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
endorlabs.com
|
25% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Endor Labs leads with a 43.8 composite score, 25% visibility and an 87.5% citation rate that is seven times the 12.5% category average, placing its domain directly in the top cited sources list. |
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| 2 |
chainguard.dev
|
12% | 75% | Google AI Mode |
Chainguard sits second at 31.2 composite with 75% citation, making it the only other brand whose domain appears in the top cited sources alongside Endor Labs, despite half the visibility. |
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| 3 |
github.com
|
25% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
GitHub matches Endor Labs on 25% visibility but its 12.5% citation rate signals it is named frequently yet rarely treated as a primary reference source by Google AI Mode. |
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| 4 |
gitlab.com
|
25% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
GitLab records 25% visibility and a 17.5 composite score but carries zero citation, the largest visibility-to-citation gap among all ranked brands in this dataset. |
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| 5 |
socket.dev
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Socket holds 12.5% visibility with a composite of 8.8 and zero citation, placing it at the lower end of brands that appear in AI responses but carry no source authority. |
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| 6 |
anchore.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
jfrog.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
blackduck.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
checkmarx.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
aquasec.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
phylum.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
harness.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
fossa.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
snyk.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
sonatype.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
mend.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
tenable.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
sigstore.dev
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
semgrep.dev
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
datadoghq.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on software supply chain security tools, 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 software supply chain security tools 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 software supply chain security tools
Who leads AEO in Software supply chain security tools right now?
Endor Labs leads with a composite score of 43.8, driven by 25% visibility and an 87.5% citation rate. It recently rose from rank 3 to rank 1, gaining 12.5 points of visibility in the latest period.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for Software supply chain security tools?
The top cited sources include google.com, endorlabs.com, chainguard.dev, youtube.com, gartner.com, arnica.io, minimus.io, and jfrog.com, suggesting the AI blends brand-owned content with analyst and niche specialist coverage.
Which brands have high visibility but low citation, and why does that matter for AEO?
GitHub at 25% visibility with 12.5% citation, and GitLab at 25% visibility with zero citation, show that appearing in AI responses does not automatically translate into being cited as an authoritative source. For AEO purposes, citation rate is the stronger signal of trusted positioning.
Which previously strong brands have lost the most AEO ground in this category?
Snyk dropped from rank 1 to rank 14, losing 37.5 points of visibility and 50 points of citation rate. Mend fell from rank 4 to rank 16 with an identical 37.5-point visibility loss, representing the two sharpest declines in the dataset.
Can a brand earn citations in this category without achieving visibility?
Yes: Anchore and JFrog both have 0% visibility but 25% citation each, indicating Google AI Mode references them as supporting sources inside answers that name other brands as the primary recommendation.
How concentrated is AEO performance across the 20 brands in this category?
The category average visibility is just 5% and average citation is 12.5%, while the top two brands hold 43.8 and 31.2 composite scores respectively, pointing to highly concentrated answer engine authority in a small cluster of brands.