Zero trust network access software: AI search visibility ranking (2026)
How AI search engines rank zero trust network access 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. ZTNA platforms used to secure private application access, replace legacy VPNs, enforce contextual policies, and reduce attack surface for modern workforces. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
Refreshed Jun 10, 2026Download this ranking as a PDF
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At a glance
What we observed in this categoryauto-generated
Zscaler holds the clear leadership position in AI visibility for zero trust network access software, with a composite score of 28.8 and visibility of 25.0% — more than double the 12.5% of its nearest competitors Twingate, NordLayer, and Fortinet Universal ZTNA. The category average visibility is just 3.8%, making Zscaler's position statistically dominant. However, the gap is narrower on citation, where Zscaler's 37.5% matches three other brands exactly, suggesting AI answers name Zscaler most often but do not uniquely trust it as a source above several peers.
A striking divergence between visibility and citation appears at rank 5 and below. Harmony Connect (checkpoint.com) has zero visibility yet the highest citation rate in the dataset at 50.0%, meaning Google AI Mode references Check Point's content without naming the brand prominently in answers. Similarly, Cloudflare One and Prisma Access hold 37.5% citation rates with 0.0% visibility. Perimeter 81 is the inverse outlier — 12.5% visibility but 0.0% citation — named in AI answers but never cited as a source. These divergences reveal that being mentioned and being sourced are structurally decoupled in this category.
Google AI Mode is the dominant engine across all 10 tracked brands, with every brand listing it as their top engine — indicating the audit data is essentially Google AI Mode-centric. Among cited external sources, youtube.com and reddit.com rank first and second, appearing before any vendor domain. Among vendor domains cited directly, twingate.com, nordlayer.com, and zscaler.com appear in the top sources list. Third-party review platforms comparitech.com and learn.g2.com also feature, suggesting Google AI Mode anchors ZTNA answers on community content and review aggregators alongside vendor sites.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Fortinet Universal ZTNA 0% → 12% · rank #17 → #4+12pp
Biggest visibility fallers
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Twingate 25% → 12% · rank #1 → #2-12pp
The ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
zscaler.com
|
25% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Zscaler leads with a composite score of 28.8 and visibility at 25.0%, more than 6.5x the category average of 3.8%, matching peers only on citation at 37.5%. |
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| 2 |
twingate.com
|
12% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Twingate sits at rank 2 with visibility halved from 25.0% to 12.5% period-over-period, yet citation held flat at 37.5%, and its domain appears directly in the top cited sources list. |
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| 3 |
nordlayer.com
|
12% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
NordLayer matches Twingate exactly on all scored metrics — 12.5% visibility, 37.5% citation, composite 20.0 — and its domain also appears in the top cited sources, indicating comparable AI footprint. |
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| 4 |
fortinet.com
|
12% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Fortinet Universal ZTNA is the biggest riser, jumping 13 places from rank 17, with both visibility and citation moving from zero to 12.5% and 37.5% respectively in a single audit period. |
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| 5 |
checkpoint.com
|
0% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
Harmony Connect (checkpoint.com) holds the highest citation rate in the dataset at 50.0% despite zero visibility, the sharpest named-vs-trusted divergence among all 20 tracked brands. |
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| 6 |
cloudflare.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
paloaltonetworks.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
perimeter81.com
|
12% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
catonetworks.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
scalefusion.com
|
0% | 25% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
netskope.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
iboss.com
|
0% | 12% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
cisco.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
citrix.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
forcepoint.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
appgate.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
openvpn.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
akamai.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
cloud.google.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
skyhighsecurity.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 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 zero trust network access 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 zero trust network access software AI visibility
Who leads AI visibility in zero trust network access software?
Zscaler leads with a visibility score of 25.0% and a composite score of 28.8, both well above the category averages of 3.8% and the nearest competitors at 12.5%.
Which brand has the highest citation rate in this category despite low visibility?
Harmony Connect (checkpoint.com) holds a 50.0% citation rate — the highest in the dataset — yet records 0.0% visibility, meaning Google AI Mode cites its content without prominently naming it in answers.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for zero trust network access research?
The top cited sources are youtube.com and reddit.com, followed by vendor domains twingate.com, nordlayer.com, and zscaler.com, plus third-party platforms comparitech.com and learn.g2.com.
Which brand showed the biggest AI visibility improvement in the latest audit period?
Fortinet Universal ZTNA rose 13 ranks from position 17 to position 4, with visibility increasing from 0.0% to 12.5% and citation jumping from 0.0% to 37.5%.
Is there a meaningful gap between which brands are named in AI answers versus which are cited as sources?
Yes — brands like Cloudflare One and Prisma Access have 37.5% citation rates but zero visibility, while Perimeter 81 has 12.5% visibility but a 0.0% citation rate, confirming named and trusted are structurally decoupled in this category.
Which AI engine dominates this category's visibility landscape?
Google AI Mode is listed as the top engine for every single brand in the top 10, making it the sole engine driving measurable AI visibility outcomes in this category based on current audit data.