The most visible business cybersecurity tools in United Kingdom, October 2026

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

Most cited source

ncsc.gov.uk

50citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini, 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 68 , range 52–77 68#1
68
  • : score 68 · #1
61% 46% First reading
2 Bitdefender RO New entry 43 , range 35–55 43#2
43
  • : score 43 · #2
35% 24% First reading
3 Microsoft 365 Business Premium US New entry 41 , range 34–52 41#3
41
  • : score 41 · #3
35% 20% First reading
4 CrowdStrike US New entry 33 , range 17–43 33#4
33
  • : score 33 · #4
22% 11% First reading
5 SentinelOne US New entry 24 , range 8–37 24#5
24
  • : score 24 · #5
19% 3% First reading
6 ESET SK New entry 20 , range 6–37 20#6
20
  • : score 20 · #6
11% 9% First reading
7 Huntress US New entry 18 , range 5–36 18#7
18
  • : score 18 · #7
11% 8% First reading
8 Sophos GB New entry 17 , range 5–36 17#8
17
  • : score 17 · #8
11% 8% First reading
9 Malwarebytes US New entry 7 , range 2–32 7#9
7
  • : score 7 · #9
7% 4% First reading
= 10 Avast Business Hub CZ New entry 6 , range 2–31 6= #10
6
  • : score 6 · #10
7% 2% 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
1 ncsc.gov.uk Regulator 28.3% 4 of 4 26 4
2 cisa.gov Regulator 10.0% 3 of 4 8 2
3 youtube.com Social 6.7% 1 of 4 10 Not read
4 ico.org.uk Regulator 6.7% 3 of 4 2 Not read
5 techradar.com Media 8.3% 2 of 4 2 15
6 ca.gov Regulator 5.0% 1 of 4 1 Not read
7 bitdefenderreviews.com Review site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 8
8 blacksheepsupport.co.uk Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 1 2
9 connection-technologies.co.uk Consultancy 3.3% 1 of 4 2 Not read
10 endpointindex.com Directory 3.3% 1 of 4 1 12

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
What are the best endpoint security solutions for small businesses? English Bitdefender, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft Defender, tied
How can mid-sized companies protect work laptops for their IT teams? English Microsoft Defender
How can a small business protect employees’ computers from viruses? English Microsoft Defender
How can I stop ransomware on work laptops? English Microsoft Defender
Traditional antivirus vs. behavioural detection for small businesses English Bitdefender, ESET and Microsoft Defender, tied
On-premises protection vs. managed endpoint security for small businesses English No brand recommended
Alternatives to installing antivirus on every computer for small businesses English Microsoft Defender
Alternatives to manually reviewing security alerts for small IT teams English Microsoft Defender
I’m the IT admin at a company with 20 employees. What protection should I use for our laptops? English Bitdefender, Microsoft 365 Business Premium and Microsoft Defender, tied
I lead an IT team with no security staff. How can I protect the company’s computers? English CrowdStrike and Microsoft Defender, tied

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