The most visible business cybersecurity tools in Europe, October 2026

October 2026 · 105 questions asked from 7 countries · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 420 answers read

Most cited source

cisa.gov

111citations

From Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

CrowdStrike

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

Brands

Search is not measured for this board yet, so it ranks on AI answers.

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Microsoft Defender US New entry 62 , range 56–68 62#1
62
  • : score 62 · #1
56% 42% First reading
2 Bitdefender RO New entry 40 , range 37–43 40#2
40
  • : score 40 · #2
30% 20% First reading
3 Microsoft 365 Business Premium US New entry 39 , range 36–42 39#3
39
  • : score 39 · #3
34% 14% First reading
4 Sophos GB New entry 31 , range 23–34 31#4
31
  • : score 31 · #4
17% 11% First reading
5 ESET SK New entry 31 , range 22–34 31#5
31
  • : score 31 · #5
17% 11% First reading
6 CrowdStrike US New entry 31 , range 21–34 31#6
31
  • : score 31 · #6
19% 8% First reading
7 SentinelOne US New entry 27 , range 16–32 27#7
27
  • : score 27 · #7
19% 5% First reading
8 Huntress US New entry 9 , range 7–21 9#8
9
  • : score 9 · #8
8% 6% First reading
9 Kaspersky RU New entry 5 , range 4–8 5#9
5
  • : score 5 · #9
7% 1% First reading
10 Avast Small Business Solutions CZ New entry 5 , range 4–8 5#10
5
  • : score 5 · #10
6% 2% 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 gives each brand’s score and rank from the engines’ answers; Search is not measured for this board yet. 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
11 reddit.com Community 3.3% 1 of 4 16 Not read
12 linkedin.com Social 2.9% 2 of 4 12 Not read
13 ico.org.uk Regulator 2.9% 3 of 4 2 Not read
14 techradar.com Media 3.1% 2 of 4 2 14
15 europa.eu Regulator 1.7% 2 of 4 8 Not read
16 av-test.org Review site 2.4% 4 of 4 7 9
17 cybermalveillance.gouv.fr Regulator 1.0% 2 of 4 9 Not read
18 pcmag.com Media 2.4% 2 of 4 3 5
19 gartner.com Industry authority 1.9% 3 of 4 1 20
20 itechguides.com Directory 1.9% 1 of 4 3 16

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
Beveiliging op locatie versus beheerde endpointbeveiliging voor kleine bedrijven Dutch No brand recommended
Alternatieven voor het installeren van antivirussoftware op elke computer binnen kleine bedrijven Dutch Bitdefender, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Defender and Sophos, tied
Alternatieven voor het handmatig beoordelen van beveiligingsmeldingen door kleine IT-teams Dutch No brand recommended
Ik ben IT-beheerder bij een bedrijf met 20 medewerkers. Welke beveiliging moet ik voor onze laptops gebruiken? Dutch Microsoft 365 Business Premium
Ik geef leiding aan een IT-team zonder beveiligingsmedewerkers. Hoe kan ik de computers van het bedrijf beveiligen? Dutch Microsoft Defender
best endpoint security tools for small businesses English Bitdefender and Microsoft Defender, tied
protect company laptops from malware for small businesses English Avast Business Hub, Avast Small Business Solutions, Bitdefender, Microsoft Defender and Norton Small Business, tied
how can a small business protect employee computers from cyberattacks English Microsoft Defender
how to stop malware from infecting company laptops English CrowdStrike, Malwarebytes and Microsoft Defender, tied
managed endpoint protection vs in-house security for it teams English No brand recommended

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