The most visible business cybersecurity tools in France, October 2026

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

Most cited source

pcmag.com

2citations

From Google AI Mode

Where engines disagree most

SentinelOne

1/4engines put it in their top three

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

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 Microsoft Defender US New entry 44 , range 25–69 49#1 36#3
44
  • : score 44 · #1
28% 22% None First reading
2 Bitdefender RO New entry 37 , range 17–58 36#2 39#2
37
  • : score 37 · #2
16% 14% First reading
3 ESET SK New entry 25 , range 12–55 34#4 9#10
25
  • : score 25 · #3
13% 10% First reading
4 Sophos GB New entry 24 , range 6–53 31#5 12#8
24
  • : score 24 · #4
11% 8% None First reading
5 Microsoft 365 Business Premium US New entry 24 , range 17–55 36#3 2= #22
24
  • : score 24 · #5
19% 7% None First reading
6 Kaspersky RU New entry 22 , range 1–48 5#8 52#1
22
  • : score 22 · #6
7% 4% None First reading
7 SentinelOne US New entry 18 , range 5–51 27#6 4#19
18
  • : score 18 · #7
12% 4% None First reading
8 CrowdStrike US New entry 15 , range 5–50 24#7 0= #50
15
  • : score 15 · #8
11% 3% None First reading
9 Acronis SG New entry 1 , range 1–38 2#9 0= #50
1
  • : score 1 · #9
2% 0% None First reading
– Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus CZ Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #50
–
  • : 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 pcmag.com Media 3.3% 1 of 4 1 5
2 aimultiple.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
3 beaboss.fr Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
4 ccn.web.tr Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
5 clubic.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
6 cybersecuritymag.africa Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
7 mairesdefrance.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
8 mdrcost.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
9 securitytoday.de Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read
10 techfitguide.com Media 1.7% 1 of 4 1 Not read

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best endpoint security tools for small businesses English Bitdefender and Microsoft Defender, tied
protect company laptops from malware for small businesses English Bitdefender, ESET, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft Defender, tied
how can a small business protect employee computers from cyberattacks English Microsoft Defender
how to stop malware from infecting company laptops English Microsoft Defender
managed endpoint protection vs in-house security for it teams English No brand recommended

Each engine's top three

Google AI Mode

No brand named in at least three answers.

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