Vantage research · November 2026 · software
What AI cites for “best free antivirus”
ChatGPT cited 8 sites, Gemini cited 5 sites, Perplexity cited 7 sites. No site was cited by all three.
Updated every 3 monthsNext edition 1 February 2027
ChatGPTGeminiPerplexity dots beside a site: the other engines that cite it too
ChatGPT
8 sites · opens with a sentence · no table · opening 22 words
- microsoft.com
- avast.com
- bitdefender.com
- avg.com
- avira.com
- av-test.org
- av-comparatives.org
- itechguides.com
Brands namedMicrosoft Defender, Avast Free Antivirus, Bitdefender Antivirus Free, AVG AntiVirus Free, Avira Free Security
Since October: new microsoft.com, avast.com, bitdefender.com, avg.com
Gemini
5 sites · opens with a sentence · no table · opening 41 words
- cloudwards.net
- safetydetectives.com
- pcmag.com
- security.org
- bitdefender.com
Brands namedBitdefender Antivirus Free, Microsoft Defender
Since October: new cloudwards.net, safetydetectives.com, security.org, bitdefender.com; dropped cybernews.com, experte.com
Perplexity
7 sites · opens with a sentence · no table · opening 26 words
- experte.com
- pcmag.com
- gizmodo.com
- ca.pcmag.com
- cnet.com
- techradar.com
- digitaltrends.com
Brands namedMicrosoft Defender, Avast One Basic, AVG AntiVirus Free, Malwarebytes Free
Since October: new ca.pcmag.com, cnet.com, digitaltrends.com; dropped memeburn.com, safewise.com, security.org, uk.pcmag.com
Cited by more than one engine
- bitdefender.com
- pcmag.com
Is your site one of them?
Ask your AI agent to run Vantage's analyze_citation_coverage for your domain and “best free antivirus”, on all
three engines, and it will tell you whether you are cited, who is instead, and what changed since your last check.
More software questions
Each engine was asked once, in English, as from the United States, on 2026-11-01. Answers change from run to run, so read this as a snapshot. Download the data.