The 5W AI Cybersecurity Visibility Index: Which Security Brands AI Engines Trust Most in 2026

A Q2 2026 pilot study measuring which cybersecurity vendors dominate ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews across high-intent buyer queries.

Published by 5W  |  May 2026

Executive Summary

When CISOs, security buyers, and IT decision-makers research vendors today, they are increasingly supplementing or replacing Google searches with AI search engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Vendors that appear consistently in AI-generated answers are more likely to enter the buyer's consideration set earlier in the buying journey.

The 5W AI Cybersecurity Visibility Index measures which cybersecurity vendors are most consistently surfaced by AI-generated answers across high-intent buyer queries. This pilot edition analyzes vendor mention frequency and citation authority across eight buyer-intent queries spanning the major cybersecurity decision categories.

Five vendors — Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne, and Fortinet — are most consistently surfaced in AI-generated answers about cybersecurity, regardless of category. Specialist leaders dominate sub-categories: Wiz in cloud security, Okta and CyberArk in identity, Zscaler in zero trust, Splunk in SIEM.

Several established vendors with substantial market presence — including Tanium, Tenable, Proofpoint, BeyondTrust, Mimecast, Trellix, Forcepoint, and Lookout — show AI visibility that lags their market position. As buyer research continues to shift toward AI interfaces, this gap is likely to widen if not actively addressed.

Halcyon, Chainguard, Cyera, and Horizon3.ai are the highest-momentum challengers, building category presence in AI answers faster than their size or marketing budgets would predict.

Methodology

Study Parameters

• Study period: Conducted May 6–7, 2026
• Geography: United States
• Language: English
• Search session type: Anonymous / logged-out browser sessions
• Runs per query: One snapshot per query (v1 pilot baseline)
• Total queries: Eight buyer-intent decision-category queries

Platforms Tested

Direct platform testing:

• Claude (Anthropic) — used as one direct AI platform data point
• Google AI Overviews — captured via anonymous Google Search results
• Google Search top organic results — captured for citation-source mapping

Inferred from cited authority sources:

• ChatGPT (OpenAI), Perplexity, and Gemini (Google) were not directly API-tested in this pilot. Their inclusion in the analysis is based on overlap of authority sources cited across all major AI search engines (Gartner Peer Insights, Forrester Wave, eSecurity Planet, G2, PeerSpot, CybersecurityNews, and similar). Direct cross-platform API testing is planned for the Q3 2026 production edition.

Buyer-Intent Queries

1. Best cybersecurity companies overall
2. Best ransomware protection vendors
3. Best endpoint detection and response (EDR)
4. Most trusted enterprise cybersecurity firms
5. Best zero trust security platforms
6. Best SIEM platforms
7. Best cloud-native security (CNAPP) vendors
8. Best identity and access management vendors

Scoring System

For each of the eight queries, every vendor was scored on a 0–3 scale based on position and prominence in surfaced AI-generated and AI-cited content:

• 3 points — Headline / top-3 position / lead recommendation
• 2 points — Called out as a leader within the answer
• 1 point — Listed as one of multiple options
• 0 points — Not surfaced

Maximum possible composite score: 24 points (3 points × 8 queries). The composite score across all eight categories produces the master Index ranking. Palo Alto Networks's pilot score of 17, for example, reflects strong headline positioning across six categories with one secondary-mention category, against the 24-point ceiling.

Citation-Source Concentration

A concentrated set of authority sources appears repeatedly across AI-generated cybersecurity answers, including Gartner Peer Insights, Forrester Wave reports, eSecurity Planet, G2, PeerSpot, CybersecurityNews, Statista, and a handful of trade publications. Vendor-published comparison content (notably from SentinelOne, Wiz, Acronis, and Cynet) is also frequently surfaced as authoritative source material in AI answers.

The 5W AI Authority Stack&##226;&##8222;&##162;

Visibility scores were interpreted through the proprietary 5W AI Authority Stack&##226;&##8222;&##162;, which identifies seven layers that drive vendor presence in AI-generated answers:

1. Analyst validation — Gartner Magic Quadrant, Forrester Wave, IDC MarketScape placements
2. Earned media — Sustained coverage in top-tier business and trade press
3. Peer-review density — Volume and recency on Gartner Peer Insights, G2, PeerSpot
4. Structured comparison content — Vendor-published "Top 10" and category-comparison content cited by AI engines
5. Category-specific landing pages — Schema-rich, query-aligned content
6. Third-party citations — Inbound links from authority sources AI engines preferentially surface
7. Executive thought leadership — CEO/CISO/CMO content presence in trade and AI-cited venues

Vendors ranking highest in the Index demonstrate strength across multiple Stack layers. Vendors underweighted in AI visibility typically show gaps in three or more.

Pilot Limitations

This is a v1 pilot baseline. The production Index, releasing quarterly beginning Q3 2026, will:

• Expand to 100+ buyer-intent queries
• Include direct API testing across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini
• Capture multiple runs per query to account for response variance
• Include logged-in / personalized result variants
• Track quarter-over-quarter movement, sentiment, and citation source quality
• Add geographic and language variants beyond U.S. English

The 5W AI Cybersecurity Visibility Index — Top 25

Composite scores across eight buyer-intent categories. Maximum possible score: 24 points (3 points × 8 queries).

Rank	Vendor	Score / 24	Categories Where Vendor Surfaces Strongly
1	Palo Alto Networks	17	Overall, Ransomware, EDR, Zero Trust, CNAPP, IAM
2	CrowdStrike	16	EDR, Ransomware, SIEM, CNAPP, Overall
3	Microsoft	15	EDR, SIEM, CNAPP, IAM, Zero Trust
4	SentinelOne	14	EDR, SIEM, CNAPP, Zero Trust, Ransomware
5	Fortinet	12	Overall, EDR, SIEM, Zero Trust
6	Cisco	9	Overall, SIEM, Zero Trust
7	Zscaler	8	Zero Trust (category leader)
8	Wiz	7	CNAPP (Forrester Wave Leader)
9	Okta	7	IAM, Zero Trust
10	CyberArk	7	IAM/PAM (Gartner Leader 7 yrs)
11	Cloudflare	6	Zero Trust, Overall
12	IBM	6	SIEM (QRadar), Overall
13	Splunk	5	SIEM
14	Trend Micro	5	EDR, Ransomware
15	Sophos	4	EDR, Ransomware
16	Check Point	4	Overall, Zero Trust
17	Bitdefender	4	Ransomware
18	Sysdig	3	CNAPP (Forrester Leader)
19	SailPoint	3	IAM/IGA
20	Rapid7	3	SIEM, EDR
21	ThreatLocker	3	Ransomware (PeerSpot ##1 rated)
22	Acronis	3	Ransomware, EDR
23	Cynet	3	Ransomware, EDR
24	Orca Security	2	CNAPP
25	Mandiant (Google)	2	Trust / Incident Response

Key Findings

1. Five vendors are most consistently surfaced in AI cybersecurity answers.

Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne, and Fortinet appear in nearly every AI-generated answer about cybersecurity. Whether the query is about ransomware, EDR, SIEM, zero trust, or cloud security, these five names anchor the response. Their consistent presence reflects decade-plus content ecosystems, dense analyst recognition, and multi-category platform stories that AI engines treat as default authorities.

2. Specialists win their lane.

In sub-categories, focused leaders outrank platform players. Wiz dominates CNAPP. Okta and CyberArk dominate identity. Zscaler defines zero trust. Splunk anchors SIEM. AI engines reward category clarity — being the obvious answer for a specific buyer question matters more than being on every list.

3. AI-cited authority sources are concentrated.

A concentrated set of authority sources appears repeatedly across AI-generated cybersecurity answers: Gartner Peer Insights, Forrester Wave, eSecurity Planet, G2, PeerSpot, CybersecurityNews, and a handful of trade publications. Vendor-published "Top 10" content (especially from SentinelOne, Wiz, Acronis, and Cynet) is also frequently cited as authoritative source material, creating a self-reinforcing visibility loop for vendors that publish their own comparison content.

4. Ransomware AI answers feature surprise leaders.

ThreatLocker (PeerSpot's ##1 user-rated ransomware solution at 9.3/10) and Halcyon (purpose-built for ransomware) appear in ransomware AI answers more frequently than their overall market share would suggest. Category clarity and specialized content drive their AI visibility.

5. Several established vendors show AI visibility gaps.

Tanium, Tenable, Proofpoint, BeyondTrust, Mimecast, Trellix, Symantec/Broadcom, Forcepoint, and Lookout each have substantial customer bases and competitive products, but appear in AI answers less frequently than competitors of similar scale. As more buyer research migrates to AI interfaces, this gap is likely to widen if not actively addressed.

6. Newer entrants are climbing fast.

Halcyon, Chainguard, Cyera, Horizon3.ai, and Upwind have built disproportionate AI visibility relative to their age and revenue, driven by sharp positioning, dense analyst coverage, and specialized content authority. AI visibility correlates more strongly with category clarity and content ecosystem strength than with company size.

Category Rankings

Ransomware Protection — Top 12

##	Vendor	Notes
1	CrowdStrike	Most frequent ##1 mention across ransomware queries
2	SentinelOne	Storyline rollback, autonomous response
3	Palo Alto Networks (Cortex XDR)	PeerSpot top mindshare 11.6%
4	ThreatLocker	PeerSpot ##1 by user rating (9.3/10)
5	Bitdefender	Multi-layer protection leader
6	Sophos Intercept X	Strong AI coverage
7	Acronis	Backup + protection integration
8	Cynet	PeerSpot top 5
9	CyberArk EPM	Privilege-based ransomware blocking
10	Trend Micro	Mature multi-layered defense
11	Halcyon	Purpose-built ransomware specialist; rising fast
12	Microsoft Defender	Bundled enterprise default

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) — Top 10

##	Vendor	Notes
1	CrowdStrike Falcon	MITRE leader; default first mention
2	SentinelOne Singularity	Autonomous response, rollback
3	Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	Bundled enterprise scale
4	Palo Alto Cortex XDR	Integrated with Prisma platform
5	Sophos Intercept X	Strong mid-market presence
6	Trend Micro Vision One	XDR with strong correlation
7	FortiEDR	Best fit for FortiGate-aligned organizations
8	Cynet	All-in-one platform play
9	Huntress Managed EDR	MSP-favored managed model
10	IBM QRadar EDR	Enterprise SIEM-integrated

SIEM — Top 10

##	Vendor	Notes
1	Splunk	Cisco-owned; enterprise default
2	Microsoft Sentinel	Cloud-native, Azure-integrated
3	CrowdStrike Falcon NG-SIEM	AI-native SOC platform
4	IBM QRadar	AI-driven, large enterprise
5	SentinelOne Singularity AI SIEM	Schemaless, AI-driven
6	Google SecOps (Chronicle)	Cloud-scale, long retention
7	Securonix	UEBA leader, Snowflake-backed
8	Exabeam	UEBA and behavioral analytics
9	LogRhythm	Self-hosted, compliance-strong
10	Rapid7 InsightIDR	Cloud SIEM with UBA

Zero Trust — Top 10

##	Vendor	Notes
1	Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange	Category-defining cloud platform
2	Palo Alto Prisma Access	SASE leader
3	Cloudflare One	Edge-delivered ZTNA
4	Microsoft Global Secure Access	Entra-integrated identity-first
5	Okta	Identity-first Zero Trust
6	Cisco Secure Access	SSE consolidation play
7	Netskope	Universal ZTNA + data protection
8	Fortinet Universal ZTNA	Best-in-class for Fortinet stacks
9	SentinelOne Singularity	AI-driven endpoint to ZT integration
10	CyberArk	Privileged access for Zero Trust

Identity & Access Management — Top 10

##	Vendor	Notes
1	Okta	Workforce identity leader; 7,000+ integrations
2	Microsoft Entra ID	Default for Microsoft-standardized organizations
3	CyberArk	Privileged Access leader; 7-year Gartner Leader
4	SailPoint	Identity governance & administration leader
5	Ping Identity	Enterprise SSO, federation-strong
6	JumpCloud	Cloud directory, SMB-friendly
7	ManageEngine AD360	Mid-market AD-centric
8	OneLogin	SSO and IAM, ease-of-use focused
9	Saviynt	IGA + cloud PAM
10	BeyondTrust	PAM challenger

Cloud Security (CNAPP) — Top 10

##	Vendor	Notes
1	Wiz	Forrester Wave Leader Q1 2026 — highest current offering score
2	Palo Alto Prisma Cloud	Multi-cloud platform leader
3	SentinelOne Singularity Cloud	AI-driven, Verified Exploit Paths
4	CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security	Endpoint-to-cloud unified
5	Microsoft Defender for Cloud	Azure-aligned default
6	Sysdig Secure	Forrester Leader; runtime-first
7	Orca Security	Agentless CSPM/CWPP
8	Tenable Cloud Security (Ermetic)	Identity-first CIEM
9	Lacework	Behavioral cloud security
10	Upwind	Fastest-growing CNAPP; eBPF runtime

AI Trust Leaders — Top 10

Cybersecurity vendors that AI engines describe most consistently with trust-signaling language ("industry-leading," "gold standard," "Gartner Leader," "most trusted").

##	Vendor	Notes
1	CrowdStrike	Most cited as "industry-leading"
2	Palo Alto Networks	Most Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader placements (5)
3	Microsoft	Default trusted recommendation
4	CyberArk	"Gartner Leader 7 consecutive years" frequently cited
5	SentinelOne	Cited for autonomous AI, MITRE 100% scores
6	Okta	"Right people, right access, right context"
7	Wiz	"Highest current offering" Forrester Wave
8	Mandiant (Google)	Incident response/forensics default
9	Cisco	Institutional networking trust
10	IBM	Enterprise-scale trust signal

The Five Most-Surfaced Vendors

Palo Alto Networks

Holds five Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader placements, more than any cybersecurity peer. Multi-product coverage across Prisma Cloud, Cortex XDR, and Prisma Access ensures presence in nearly every AI answer regardless of buyer query. The company's expanded identity portfolio closes one of the few remaining gaps in its AI visibility footprint.

CrowdStrike

The vendor most frequently described as "industry-leading" or "the gold standard" across AI cybersecurity answers. Falcon's MITRE ATT&CK results and the company's EDR origin story have established it as the default first-mention for endpoint and ransomware queries. Expansion into SIEM (Falcon Next-Gen) and cloud (Falcon Cloud Security) has tracked closely with rising AI visibility in those categories.

Microsoft

Wins through ubiquity. Defender for Endpoint, Sentinel, Defender for Cloud, and Entra ID each rank in the top three of their categories. AI engines surface Microsoft as the default safe answer for organizations already standardized on the Microsoft stack.

SentinelOne

Strong AI visibility for autonomous response and AI-native security. Notably, SentinelOne publishes its own authoritative "Top 10" comparison content, which AI engines frequently cite back, reinforcing position across EDR, SIEM, CNAPP, and zero trust answers.

Fortinet

Anchored by FortiGate firewalls and the Security Fabric platform, Fortinet appears across nearly every category. Strongest in SMB and mid-market AI answers; the closest challenger to Palo Alto for enterprise share of voice.

Vendors With AI Visibility Gaps

These vendors have substantial customer bases and competitive products, but rank below their market position in AI visibility. Each represents an AI-discovery risk and a positioning opportunity.

• Tanium — Endpoint management leader; minimal presence in EDR AI answers
• Tenable — Vulnerability management leader; underweighted in CNAPP despite Ermetic acquisition
• Proofpoint — Email security leader; AI-invisible in most security category queries
• BeyondTrust — PAM leader; consistently outranked by CyberArk in identity AI answers
• Mimecast — Email security; missing from most AI-surfaced lists
• Trellix — Combined McAfee/FireEye; weak AI visibility despite size
• Symantec / Broadcom — Legacy enterprise leader; declining AI presence
• Forcepoint — Solid product portfolio; near-zero AI visibility
• Lookout — Mobile security leader; outside most AI answers

Momentum Players

Newer or repositioned brands gaining AI visibility share faster than traditional SEO momentum would predict.

• Halcyon — Purpose-built ransomware protection; rising fast in ransomware AI answers
• Chainguard — Software supply chain security; cited for open-source security stories
• Cyera — Data security for the AI era; rising in AI-security answers
• Horizon3.ai — Autonomous pentesting; building AI visibility for security testing
• Upwind — Runtime cloud security; rising CNAPP challenger
• AccuKnox — Open-source CNAPP; gaining ground via Kubernetes content
• Sublime Security — Email security innovator
• Tailscale — Modern VPN/mesh networking
• Sysdig — From Kubernetes runtime specialist to Forrester CNAPP Leader

What This Means for Cybersecurity Marketers

AI search engines are an increasingly important channel that most cybersecurity CMOs are not yet measuring. Buyer journeys that historically started with Google now often start with ChatGPT or Perplexity. AI Overviews answer many queries directly before users click any link.

Three implications:

1. AI visibility is now a measurable category of brand strength.

What share of AI answers does your brand appear in? What is the sentiment? What is the citation source quality? These are emerging CMO-level KPIs alongside organic search rank, share of voice, and analyst placements.

2. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the new SEO.

The tactics that drive AI visibility — high-authority earned media, structured analyst content, vendor-published authoritative comparison content, schema-rich landing pages, and density of trust signals across the cited source set — are different from traditional SEO and require new playbooks.

3. The window is open.

The cybersecurity AI visibility ecosystem is still being shaped. Vendors that move now to build AI authority can establish durable buyer-discovery positions. Vendors that wait may find themselves invisible to a growing share of their buyers within 18 months.

About the Index

The 5W AI Cybersecurity Visibility Index will be published quarterly. Q3 2026 will expand to 100+ buyer-intent queries with direct API-level testing across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. Future editions will track quarter-over-quarter movement, new entrants, sentiment, and category-level visibility shifts.

To request the full vendor-by-vendor analysis, schedule a custom AI visibility audit for your brand, or be included as a tracked vendor in the Q3 edition: contact 5W at [email protected] or visit www.5wpr.com.

About 5W

5W is the AI Communications Firm, building brand authority across the platforms where decisions now happen — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews — alongside earned media, digital, and influencer channels. 5W combines public relations, digital marketing, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), and proprietary AI visibility research, helping clients measure and grow their presence in AI-driven buyer research.

Founded more than 20 years ago, 5W has been recognized as a top U.S. PR agency by O’Dwyer’s, named Agency of the Year in the American Business Awards®, and honored as a Top Place to Work in Communications in 2026 by Ragan. 5W serves clients across B2C sectors including Beauty & Fashion, Consumer Brands, Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Travel & Hospitality, Technology, and Nonprofit; B2B specialties including Corporate Communications and Reputation Management; as well as Public Affairs, Crisis Communications, and Digital Marketing, including Social Media, Influencer, Paid Media, GEO, and SEO. 5W was also named to the Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year list.

For more information, visit www.5wpr.com.