The most visible antivirus apps in Germany, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from Germany in German and English · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

Most cited source

youtube.com

30citations

From Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews

Where engines disagree most

Avast

1/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Mode, not on Gemini, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
11 Sophos GB New entry 15 , range 1–47 6#9 30#11
15
  • : score 15 · #11
6% 2% First reading
– Acronis SG Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #21
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Adaware SE Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #21
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Aura US Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #21
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Emsisoft NZ Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #21
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– F-Secure FI Unranked Too few answers Not measured 13#15
–
  • : Unranked
2% 0% First reading
– G DATA DE Unranked Too few answers Not measured 25#13
–
  • : Unranked
3% 0% First reading
– Intego FR Unranked Too few answers Not measured 7#18
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Lookout US Unranked Too few answers Not measured 26#12
–
  • : Unranked
1% 1% None First reading
– MacKeeper UA Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #21
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 youtube.com Social 18.3% 2 of 4 29 Not read
2 bund.de Regulator 16.7% 3 of 4 13 Not read
3 apple.com Vendor site 11.7% 2 of 4 12 Not read
4 google.com Vendor site 15.0% 3 of 4 11 Not read
5 av-test.org Review site 11.7% 2 of 4 10 Not read
6 experte.de Directory 10.0% 3 of 4 4 11
7 verbraucherzentrale.nrw Regulator 10.0% 4 of 4 1 Not read
8 av-comparatives.org Review site 3.3% 2 of 4 5 Not read
9 cisa.gov Regulator 3.3% 1 of 4 4 Not read
10 facebook.com Social 5.0% 1 of 4 4 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
do i need antivirus protection if i only download apps from official stores English Microsoft Defender
what can replace relying on built-in security to protect my laptop English Malwarebytes
how can i replace separate security apps with one for my devices English Bitdefender, ESET and Microsoft Defender, tied
i work remotely and need to protect my laptop on public wi-fi English No brand recommended
i have children using shared devices and need to block unsafe downloads English Microsoft Defender

Each engine's top three

Method

Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.

For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured