# Security awareness training: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "security awareness training platform" and as "phishing simulation and training tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/security-awareness-training/2026-10

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/security-awareness-training/index.md

**Standing:** KnowBe4 leads with 45% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 49 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [KnowBe4](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/knowbe4/index.md) | 45% | 18% | 65 |
| 2 | [Hoxhunt](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/hoxhunt/index.md) | 16% | 2% | 55 |
| 3 | [Wizer](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/wizer/index.md) | 8% | 0% | 11 |
| 4 | [Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/huntress-managed-security-awareness-training/index.md) | 6% | 0% | 20 |
| 6 | [SoSafe](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/sosafe/index.md) | 4% | 0% | 29 |
| 8 | [Proofpoint ZenGuide](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/proofpoint-zenguide/index.md) | 2% | 30% | 46 |
| 13 | [Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/arctic-wolf-managed-security-awareness/index.md) | 0% | 18% | 22 |
| 14 | [MetaCompliance](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/metacompliance/index.md) | 0% | 7% | 15 |
| 15 | [Infosec IQ](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/infosec-iq/index.md) | 0% | 8% | 13 |
| 16 | [Cofense PhishMe](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cofense-phishme/index.md) | 0% | 26% | 19 |
| 17 | [Mimecast Engage](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/mimecast-engage/index.md) | 0% | 17% | 12 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 63 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: KnowBe4; alternatives Hoxhunt, Proofpoint ZenGuide
- GPT-5.4 mini: KnowBe4; alternatives Hoxhunt, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, Mimecast Engage, Proofpoint ZenGuide
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Hoxhunt; alternatives Adaptive Security, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training
- Perplexity Sonar: Hoxhunt; alternatives Cofense PhishMe, KnowBe4, SoSafe
- Grok 4.20: KnowBe4; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Hoxhunt, MetaCompliance, Proofpoint ZenGuide
- Mistral Small: KnowBe4, Proofpoint ZenGuide; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Hoxhunt, Mimecast Engage, SoSafe
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Hoxhunt, KnowBe4; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Proofpoint ZenGuide, SoSafe
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Hoxhunt, Infosec IQ
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: KnowBe4; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Hoxhunt
- Kimi K2: Hoxhunt; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, KnowBe4, SoSafe
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: KnowBe4; alternatives Hoxhunt, SoSafe
- MiniMax M2.5: Hoxhunt, KnowBe4; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness
- GPT-6 Luna: KnowBe4; alternatives Hoxhunt, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, Proofpoint ZenGuide
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Hoxhunt; alternatives Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, KnowBe4, MetaCompliance, Proofpoint ZenGuide

## Sources the answers cite

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

- expertinsights.com: 47 answers, 63 citations
- hoxhunt.com: 44 answers, 63 citations
- learn.g2.com: 44 answers, 44 citations
- adaptivesecurity.com: 43 answers, 102 citations
- g2.com: 38 answers, 88 citations
- knowbe4.com: 30 answers, 46 citations
- easyllama.com: 26 answers, 26 citations
- riskpublishing.com: 20 answers, 20 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://learn.g2.com/best-security-awareness-training-software (44 answers)
- https://hoxhunt.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training (33 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/security-awareness-training/the-top-security-awareness-training-platforms-for-businesses (30 answers)
- https://easyllama.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training-providers (25 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/security-awareness-training (22 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/security-awareness-training/top-security-awareness-content-and-development-solutions (20 answers)
- https://riskpublishing.com/best-security-awareness-training-platforms-comp (20 answers)
- https://adaptivesecurity.com/blog/security-awareness-training-platforms (18 answers)
- https://adaptivesecurity.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training-companies-in-2026-how-to-evaluate-and-choose-the-right-platform (13 answers)
- https://defendify.com/blog/security-awareness-training-vendors (12 answers)

## Warned against

- Proofpoint ZenGuide: 14 of 46 labels negative. "Proofpoint, Mimecast – Often bundled with email security and can be expensive for small teams" (Kimi K2, budget prompt)
- KnowBe4: 12 of 65 labels negative. "1.9-star Trustpilot rating (85 % 1-star reviews) – users call the content “garbage”" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)
- Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness: 4 of 22 labels negative. "Arctic Wolf has received positive reviews, but its focus on microlearning and simulations may not be suitable for all organizations." (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt)
- Cofense PhishMe: 5 of 19 labels negative. "though the admin overhead is worth factoring in if you have a lean team without capacity for ongoing campaign management" (Claude Haiku 4.5, direct prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: KnowBe4 at 46%.

- Wizer: 20% to 5%, −15. Cleared the floor by 4 points · rank 2 → 5 of 61.
- SoSafe: 0% to 5%, +5. Inside the floor by 6 points · rank 11 → 4 of 61.
- KnowBe4: 42% to 46%, +4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 1 of 61, unchanged.
- Hoxhunt: 13% to 17%, +4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 3 → 2 of 61.
- Infosec IQ: 4% to 0%, −4. Inside the floor by 7 points · rank 6 → 15 of 61.
- Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training: 9% to 7%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 4 → 3 of 61.
- Proofpoint ZenGuide: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 10 → 7 of 61.
- Hook Security: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 9 of 61.
- Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 7 → 13 of 61.
- MetaCompliance: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 15 → 14 of 61.
- Cofense PhishMe: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 17 → 16 of 61.
- Mimecast Engage: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 19 → 17 of 61.

## Record

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