# Email security for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "email security platform" and as "phishing and email threat protection tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/email-security/2026-11/enterprise

**Standing:** Proofpoint Email Protection leads with 41% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 54 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Proofpoint Email Protection](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/proofpoint-email-protection/index.md) | 41% | 15% | 72 |
| 2 | [Microsoft Defender for Office 365](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-defender-for-office-365/index.md) | 24% | 13% | 63 |
| 3 | [Abnormal AI](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/abnormal-ai/index.md) | 17% | 4% | 48 |
| 4 | [Mimecast Email Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/mimecast-email-security/index.md) | 7% | 16% | 57 |
| 5 | [Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/check-point-harmony-email-collaboration/index.md) | 4% | 8% | 37 |
| 6 | [Barracuda Email Protection](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/barracuda-email-protection/index.md) | 4% | 21% | 28 |
| 9 | [Darktrace EMAIL](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/darktrace-email/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 16 |
| 10 | [Cisco Secure Email](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cisco-secure-email/index.md) | 0% | 19% | 21 |
| 11 | [Sublime Security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sublime-security/index.md) | 0% | 0% | 10 |
| 12 | [IRONSCALES](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/ironscales/index.md) | 0% | 13% | 15 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 74 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security, Sublime Security
- GPT-5.4 mini: Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Abnormal AI; alternatives Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection, Sublime Security
- Perplexity Sonar: Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Abnormal Inbound Email Security, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security
- Grok 4.20: Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL
- Mistral Small: Proofpoint Email Protection
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Abnormal AI, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365
- Kimi K2: Abnormal AI; alternatives Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Mimecast Email Security; alternatives Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email Protection
- MiniMax M2.5: Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Cisco Email Security, Google Workspace (Gmail) Advanced Protection, Mimecast Email Security, Sophos Email
- GPT-6 Luna: Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Abnormal AI, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection; alternatives Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365

## Sources the answers cite

76 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- checkpoint.com: 35 answers, 61 citations
- proofpoint.com: 29 answers, 49 citations
- securityboulevard.com: 25 answers, 32 citations
- g2.com: 23 answers, 35 citations
- microsoft.com: 23 answers, 33 citations
- expertinsights.com: 18 answers, 23 citations
- huntress.com: 18 answers, 20 citations
- mimecast.com: 17 answers, 26 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://checkpoint.com/comparison/best-email-security-companies (21 answers)
- https://securityboulevard.com/2026/10/best-enterprise-email-security-platforms-compared-2026-buyers-guide (15 answers)
- https://proofpoint.com/us/compare/email-security-solutions (14 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/intelligent-email-protection/enterprise (13 answers)
- https://gane.ai/index/it/security/email-security/enterprise (11 answers)
- https://microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-defender-office-365 (11 answers)
- https://sublime.security/articles/enterprise-email-security-solutions (11 answers)
- https://viewpointanalysis.com/post/email-security-software-options-2026 (11 answers)
- https://checkpoint.com/cyber-hub/threat-prevention/what-is-email-security/best-alternative-to-microsoft-defender (10 answers)
- https://guideflow.com/blog/email-security-software (10 answers)

## Warned against

- Mimecast Email Security: 9 of 57 labels negative. "Do not buy another traditional Gateway (like Proofpoint or Mimecast)." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- Proofpoint Email Protection: 11 of 72 labels negative. "Do not buy another traditional Gateway (like Proofpoint or Mimecast)." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- Barracuda Email Protection: 6 of 28 labels negative. "Why cautious/avoid: Positioned as more SMB/mid-market focused in Gartner analyses ... At-Bay's risk report ranks it higher for associated security incidents compared to leaders." (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Barracuda Email Security Gateway: 5 of 5 labels negative. "Avoid Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) entirely given its history of multiple critical, actively exploited vulnerabilities" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Proofpoint Email Protection at 41%.

- Proofpoint Email Protection: 48% to 41%, −7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 1 of 74, unchanged.
- Abnormal AI: 10% to 17%, +7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 3 of 74, unchanged.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365: 29% to 24%, −5. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 2 of 74, unchanged.
- Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration: 0% to 4%, +4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 8 → 5 of 74.
- Barracuda Email Protection: 0% to 4%, +4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 10 → 6 of 74.
- IRONSCALES: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 12 of 74.
- Mimecast Email Security: 8% to 7%, −1. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 4 of 74, unchanged.
- Darktrace EMAIL: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 39 → 9 of 74.
- Cisco Secure Email: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 9 → 10 of 74.
- Sublime Security: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 13 → 11 of 74.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.