# Security awareness training for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "security awareness training platform" and as "phishing simulation and training tool", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/security-awareness-training/smb/

**Standing:** Hook Security leads with 34% of first choices; verdict contested. 50 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hook Security | 34% | 0% | 38 |
| 2 | KnowBe4 | 28% | 51% | 57 |
| 3 | Wizer | 20% | 0% | 39 |
| 4 | CanIPhish | 4% | 0% | 25 |
| 5 | Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training | 2% | 0% | 39 |
| 6 | Hoxhunt | 2% | 14% | 21 |
| 7 | EasyLlama | 2% | 8% | 12 |
| 8 | SoSafe | 0% | 10% | 10 |
| 9 | Proofpoint ZenGuide | 0% | 53% | 15 |

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

- Claude Haiku 4.5: EasyLlama; alternatives Hoxhunt, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training
- GPT-5.4 mini: KnowBe4; alternatives Microsoft Attack Simulation Training
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Hook Security; alternatives Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, NINJIO, Wizer
- Perplexity Sonar: KnowBe4; alternatives Hook Security, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, SoSafe, Wizer
- Grok 4.1 Fast: Hook Security; alternatives Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, KnowBe4
- Mistral Small: Hook Security; alternatives CanIPhish, EasyLlama, Wizer
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: KnowBe4; alternatives Hook Security, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, Wizer
- Llama 4 Maverick: Hook Security; alternatives CanIPhish, Wizer
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Hook Security; alternatives Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, Wizer
- Kimi K2: Hook Security; alternatives EasyLlama, Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training, KnowBe4, Wizer
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Hook Security; alternatives Guardey, Hoxhunt, KnowBe4, Wizer
- MiniMax M2.5: Hook Security, Wizer; alternatives CanIPhish, EasyLlama, Infosec IQ

## Sources the answers cite

68 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- adaptivesecurity.com: 38 answers, 91 citations
- expertinsights.com: 36 answers, 51 citations
- hooksecurity.co: 36 answers, 48 citations
- hoxhunt.com: 33 answers, 40 citations
- smallbizsecurityguide.com: 30 answers, 31 citations
- learn.g2.com: 29 answers, 30 citations
- knowbe4.com: 23 answers, 32 citations
- easyllama.com: 23 answers, 25 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://hooksecurity.co/blog/best-security-awareness-training-small-business (34 answers)
- https://smallbizsecurityguide.com/best-security-awareness-training-platforms-2026 (30 answers)
- https://hoxhunt.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training (29 answers)
- https://learn.g2.com/best-security-awareness-training-software (29 answers)
- https://expertinsights.com/security-awareness-training/the-top-security-awareness-training-platforms-for-businesses (25 answers)
- https://easyllama.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training-providers (23 answers)
- https://adaptivesecurity.com/blog/best-security-awareness-training-small-businesses (21 answers)
- https://guardey.com/security-awareness-small-business (14 answers)
- https://adaptivesecurity.com/blog/security-awareness-training-small-business (13 answers)
- https://dataconomy.com/2026/06/10/which-security-awareness-training-solution-is-right-for-you-5-options-compared (11 answers)

## Warned against

- KnowBe4: 29 of 57 labels negative. "Why avoid/caution for SMBs: Overkill for small teams—starts at $25-35/user/year but scales poorly with admin time." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)
- Proofpoint ZenGuide: 8 of 15 labels negative. "Enterprise-focused with high costs (custom, often $50+/user/year); reviewers say it's expensive and heavy for small teams." (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)
- GoPhish: 5 of 6 labels negative. "completely free but requires technical self-management (hosting, server setup). Only worth it if you have technical staff" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, paraphrase prompt)
- Hoxhunt: 3 of 21 labels negative. "negotiates down to $2.90–$3.60—only if you commit to 500+ seats. That's out of reach for most small businesses." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.