Endpoint Detection and Response Software: AI Market Discovery Index

Benchmark Summary

In September 2026, CrowdStrike Falcon leads the Endpoint Detection and Response Software benchmark with a valid recommendation coverage of 58.9%, down from 62.5% in July 2026. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint follows at 56.5% in September 2026, down from 61.4% in July 2026, a gap of just 2.4 percentage points between the two leaders.

There was no significant movement this month. The largest coverage decline belongs to Trend Micro, which fell to 9.8% in September 2026 from 15.3% in July 2026, a drop of 5.5 percentage points beyond normal month-to-month variation across the three-month series. No brand recorded a significant coverage increase in September 2026; the largest riser was Cybereason, which reached 2.5% in September 2026 from 1.1% in July 2026, though this movement remains within normal month-to-month variation.

Across the full July-to-September series, several brands recorded declines in valid recommendation coverage in each of the two months since July 2026, including CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne, Palo Alto Cortex XDR, Trellix, and Trend Micro. Cybereason and VMware Carbon Black rose in each of the two months since July 2026. Sophos Intercept X's decline was concentrated in August 2026 and held roughly steady into September 2026.

The benchmark began with 800 prompt-surface observations in each month and produced 520 qualified observations in September 2026 after qualification.

Current Benchmark at a Glance

August 2026 sat between these months at 536 qualified observations and a valid recommendation shortlist share of 57.5%. 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

August 2026 sat between these months. Sophos Intercept X fell to 35.3% in August 2026 before steadying at 35.4% in September 2026. Trend Micro declined in each of the two months since July 2026, from 15.3% to 11.2% to 9.8%. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint moved down 3.6 points from August to September 2026.

Largest Decline: Sophos Intercept X

Sophos Intercept X posted the largest coverage decline in the series, with valid recommendation coverage falling by 7.8 percentage points from 43.2% in July 2026 to 35.4% in September 2026, beyond normal month-to-month variation. Almost all of the drop occurred in August 2026, when coverage fell 7.9 points to 35.3%; it held roughly steady into September 2026. Presence rate also declined to 46.2% in September 2026 from 49.8% in July 2026, and its rank-one rate fell to 0.2% from 1.1% over the same period.

Largest Decline: Trend Micro

Trend Micro declined in each of the two months since July 2026. Valid recommendation coverage fell from 15.3% in July 2026 to 11.2% in August 2026 and then to 9.8% in September 2026, a cumulative drop of 5.5 percentage points beyond normal variation. Its top-three rate also fell, to 1.0% in September 2026 from 3.3% in July 2026. Presence rate declined to 20.2% from 24.8% over the same span.

Category Leader: CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike Falcon remained the category leader in September 2026 with a valid recommendation coverage of 58.9%, down from 62.5% in July 2026, a move within normal variation. Its presence rate rose to 90.0% in September 2026 from 84.9% in July 2026. Its top-three rate fell to 53.6% from 59.9% and its rank-one rate declined to 40.4% from 47.1% over the same period.

The remaining tracked brands were stable. Bitdefender GravityZone, Palo Alto Cortex XDR, SentinelOne, and Trellix each saw modest declines within normal variation. Cybereason and VMware Carbon Black each rose within normal variation, with Cybereason moving up in each of the two months since July 2026.

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 very different first-position rates. CrowdStrike Falcon and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint sit within 2.4 percentage points of each other on coverage, yet CrowdStrike Falcon leads on rank-one placement by 33.1 percentage points in September 2026 (40.4% versus 7.3%).

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 only the Brand Recommendation class 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

Get a Company-Level Authority Index

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.

Get my free AI Company Index