AEO for zero trust network access software: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank zero trust network access software 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. Security platforms used to replace traditional VPNs with identity-aware, least-privilege access to applications and internal resources. 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 buyers query AI engines about Zero trust network access software, Zscaler emerges as the leader, appearing in 37.5% of responses. Twingate and Prisma Access are also notable contenders. This visibility underlines Zscaler's prominence and reliability in the industry, making it a primary reference point for those exploring secure network solutions.
The rankings reflect the sources AI engines pull information from, with domains like google.com, reddit.com, g2.com, youtube.com, and startwithidentity.com proving influential. Many of these are aggregator or review sites, signifying that brands featuring frequently in consumer and expert opinions tend to have higher visibility, impacting their standing in AI-driven queries.
For buyers, considering brands that are frequently mentioned by AI engines is pivotal. These engines highly value current reviews, third-party validation, and authoritative voices on specific subcategories. When selecting from this list, prioritize brands with recent endorsements and extensive topical coverage, ensuring confidence in your security software choice.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Zscaler holds the top composite score (30.0) in this category, but its visibility has fallen from 75.0% to 37.5% and its citation rate dropped from 50.0% to 12.5% in the current period. Twingate matches Zscaler on visibility at 37.5% yet records zero citations, meaning the gap in composite score between rank 1 and rank 2 (30.0 vs 26.2) is driven almost entirely by citation weight. For AEO purposes, that citation gap is the most consequential number in the dataset.
Cloudflare One is the sharpest example of visibility-citation divergence in this category. It appears in only 12.5% of AI responses by visibility yet earns citations in 37.5% of responses, the highest citation rate of any brand. Prisma Access shows the inverse pattern with equal visibility and citation rates at 25.0% each, making it the most balanced performer. Twingate and the rank 6-8 cluster (Perimeter 81, Cisco Duo, Appgate) all carry zero citation rates despite non-trivial visibility scores, indicating AI names them without anchoring to their content.
Google AI Mode is the dominant engine across every brand in this dataset, with no brand recording a top engine other than Google AI Mode. The top cited external sources are google.com, reddit.com, g2.com, and youtube.com, followed by specialist sources including startwithidentity.com and guideflow.com. The presence of paloaltonetworks.com and cloudflare.com in the cited sources list aligns directly with the citation performance of Prisma Access and Cloudflare One, suggesting the AI is partly anchoring on vendor-owned content for those two brands.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Prisma Access 12% → 25% · rank #7 → #3+12pp
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Cisco Duo 0% → 12% · rank #11 → #7+12pp
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Appgate 0% → 12% · rank #14 → #8+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Zscaler 75% → 38% · rank #1 → #1-38pp
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Twingate 62% → 38% · rank #2 → #2-25pp
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Tailscale 25% → 0% · rank #5 → #12-25pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
zscaler.com
|
38% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
Zscaler leads with a composite score of 30.0 and 37.5% visibility, but its citation rate of 12.5% is less than half of Cloudflare One's despite ranking three places higher. |
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| 2 |
twingate.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Twingate matches Zscaler's 37.5% visibility yet records a 0.0% citation rate, the largest visibility-to-citation gap among all ranked brands in the category. |
||||
| 3 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
25% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
Prisma Access is the only top-5 brand with equal visibility and citation rates (both 25.0%), and it rose four rank positions after doubling its visibility from 12.5% to 25.0%. |
||||
| 4 |
cloudflare.com
|
12% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Cloudflare One holds the highest citation rate in the dataset at 37.5%, three times its visibility score of 12.5%, with cloudflare.com appearing directly in the top cited sources list. |
||||
| 5 |
nordlayer.com
|
12% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
NordLayer sits at a composite score of 12.5 with both visibility and citation at 12.5%, placing it at the category average for citation but well above the 8.1% average for visibility. |
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| 6 |
perimeter81.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
cisco.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
appgate.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
keepersecurity.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
axis.security
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
openvpn.net
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
tailscale.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
netskope.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
akamai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
cloud.google.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
ivanti.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
strongdm.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
goteleport.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
catonetworks.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on zero trust network access 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 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 zero trust network access software 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 zero trust network access software
Who leads AEO in Zero trust network access software?
Zscaler leads with a composite score of 30.0 and 37.5% visibility, though its citation rate of 12.5% has fallen sharply from a prior period figure of around 50.0%.
Which brand earns the most citations from Google AI Mode in this category?
Cloudflare One has the highest citation rate at 37.5%, despite appearing in only 12.5% of AI responses by visibility, suggesting the AI trusts its content more than it surfaces the brand by name.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for Zero trust network access software research?
The top cited sources are google.com, reddit.com, g2.com, and youtube.com, with vendor-owned domains paloaltonetworks.com and cloudflare.com also appearing in the cited sources list.
Which brands are gaining AEO momentum in this category?
Prisma Access rose four rank positions and doubled its visibility to 25.0% while also gaining 12.5 percentage points in citation rate, making it the strongest mover in the current period.
Which established brands are losing AEO ground in Zero trust network access software?
Zscaler's visibility fell from 75.0% to 37.5% and Twingate dropped from 62.5% to 37.5%, while Tailscale fell seven rank positions and now records 0.0% visibility.
What does a high visibility but zero citation rate mean for AEO performance in this category?
Brands like Twingate, Perimeter 81, Cisco Duo, and Appgate are named in AI responses but not cited as sources, meaning Google AI Mode references them without treating their content as authoritative evidence.