Endpoint Detection and Response Software: AI Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

In August 2026, CrowdStrike Falcon leads the Endpoint Detection and Response Software benchmark with a valid recommendation coverage of 61.0%, down from 62.5% in July 2026. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint follows closely at 60.1% in August 2026, down from 61.4% in July 2026, a gap of 0.9 percentage points between the two leaders.

The largest coverage decline this month belongs to Sophos Intercept X, which fell to 35.3% in August 2026 from 43.2% in July 2026, a drop of 7.9 percentage points that exceeds normal month-to-month variation. There was no significant riser in August 2026; the largest increase was VMware Carbon Black, which rose to 2.2% in August 2026 from 1.5% in July 2026, though this movement remained within normal variation.

The benchmark recorded significant movement this month, driven primarily by the Sophos Intercept X decline. Across the full July-to-August series, CrowdStrike Falcon held the lead with stable coverage, while several other brands saw modest declines within normal variation.

The benchmark began with 800 prompt-surface observations in each month and produced 536 qualified observations in August 2026 and 456 in July 2026 after qualification.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

Qualified surface breadth counts the canonical AI/search surface families with at least one qualified observation: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode.

For the strategic interpretation of this benchmark, read CiteWorks Studio's analysis of How AI Search Is Recommending Endpoint Detection and Response Software

Research Scope and Qualification

The public benchmark is narrower than the raw collection universe by design. The funnel below shows how observations were qualified.

Brand-level percentages use the qualified observations as the public denominator, not the raw collection. See the AI Market Discovery Methodology.

Current Brand Standings

How to Read the Standings

• Presence rate: share of qualified observations in which the brand is mentioned at all.
• Valid recommendation coverage: share of qualified observations in which the brand appears in a valid recommendation shortlist.
• Top-three rate: share of qualified observations in which the brand appears among the top three recommended options.
• Rank-one rate: share of qualified observations in which the brand is the first recommendation.
• Net sentiment: positive mentions minus negative mentions divided by total mentions.

For formulas and denominator rules, see AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions.

Recommendation Coverage Movement

Largest Decline: Sophos Intercept X

Sophos Intercept X posted the only significant movement in August 2026, with valid recommendation coverage falling by 7.9 percentage points beyond normal month-to-month variation. Presence rate also declined to 43.1% in August 2026 from 49.8% in July 2026, even though the brand appeared in more qualified observations overall — 231 in August 2026, up from 227 in July 2026, reflecting the larger overall observation base that month. Its valid recommendation count fell to 189 from 197.

Category Leader: CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike Falcon remained the category leader in August 2026 with a valid recommendation coverage of 61.0%, down from 62.5% in July 2026. This change was within normal variation. Its top-three rate fell to 45.7% in August 2026 from 59.9% in July 2026, and its rank-one rate declined to 31.5% from 47.1%. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint narrowed the rank-one gap, with its rank-one rate rising to 8.8% in August 2026 from 4.6% in July 2026, even as its own top-three rate declined to 41.6% from 52.4% in the same period.

The other seven tracked brands remained stable. SentinelOne, Palo Alto Cortex XDR, Trellix, and Trend Micro each saw modest declines within normal variation, while Bitdefender GravityZone, Cybereason, and VMware Carbon Black each saw small increases within normal variation.

Recommendation Placement Snapshot

Coverage alone does not show how prominently a brand is recommended. Placement rates reveal where brands sit within the recommendation list.

Close coverage can still hide different first-position rates. CrowdStrike Falcon and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint sit within 0.9 percentage points of each other on coverage, yet CrowdStrike Falcon leads on rank-one placement by 22.7 percentage points in August 2026 (31.5% versus 8.8%).

Buyer-Intent Distribution

All qualified observations in both months fell into the Brand Recommendation class, representing discovery and consideration intent.

The current public series measures the Brand Recommendation class of discovery and does not yet contain qualified observations in the Pricing & Value or Multi-Brand Comparison classes.

Historical Measurement Record

This is an evergreen benchmark URL. New measurements are added to the same report.

Evidence and Source Layer

The benchmark is built from prompt-level observations that retain the query, AI/search surface, answer, brand outcome, recommendation placement, sentiment, and, where exposed, citations or attributable evidence sources. Source presence is evidence about the information environment. It is not automatically proof that the source caused the recommendation.

Scope Boundaries

This public benchmark does not measure:

• Market share or vendor revenue
• Attributable sales or pipeline conversion
• Every possible AI response to a given query
• Organic-search ranking positions outside the tested AI surfaces
• Social mention volume or sentiment outside the tested AI surfaces
• Private or sponsored AI channels
• Causality from a metric movement alone

About This Benchmark

The LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery Index is a neutral, repeatable industry benchmark that tracks how often and how prominently brands appear in AI-generated recommendations across six canonical AI/search surface families: ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. It measures presence, recommendation coverage, placement, and sentiment as distinct signals of AI market discovery.

• AI Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Market Discovery Metric Definitions
• AI Market Discovery Research Standards
• Modeled AI Authority Value

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The public industry benchmark shows category-level standings. A company-level Authority Index can go deeper into your brand's specific AI discovery profile, recommendation placement, and competitive context.

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