# Palo Alto Networks: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 48 judge labels across 8 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/palo-alto-networks/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next-generation firewalls | 2% | 5 | 29% | 31 |
| Extended detection and response | 0% | 53 | 60% | 5 |
| Zero trust network access | 0% | 43 | 40% | 5 |
| Cloud-native application protection | 0% | 51 | 50% | 2 |
| Endpoint protection | 0% | 28 | 0% | 2 |
| Attack surface management | 0% | 46 | 0% | 1 |
| Data loss prevention | 0% | 39 | 0% | 1 |
| DDoS protection | 0% | 25 | 0% | 1 |

## What the models said for it

- "Palo Alto Networks pioneered the XDR category and remains a dominant force, consistently leading analyst evaluations in detection accuracy and behavioral analytics." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, XDR)
- "Palo Alto is usually favored for deepest application visibility and advanced threat prevention... often positioned as the most feature-rich option" (Perplexity Sonar, Firewalls)
- "Palo Alto Networks is usually the best overall choice if you want top-tier security, strong app visibility, and a mature management stack." (GPT-5.4 mini, Firewalls)
- "Industry leader with powerful threat detection, AI-driven analytics, cloud-native firewalling (Prisma), and a strong ecosystem" (Claude Haiku 4.5, Firewalls)

## And against it

- "Earned "Caution" in NSS Labs 2025 (lowest security effectiveness at 46.37%, failed critical network/transport-layer evasions)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, Firewalls)
- "Highest cost. Both the hardware and the annual subscription renewals are significantly more expensive than competitors." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, Firewalls)
- "Leading platforms (like Cortex XDR or Microsoft Defender) require highly specialized, dedicated security engineers" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, XDR)
- "some users find Palo Alto’s use cases (like Secure Browser) too narrow for broader network access needs." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, ZTNA)

## 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.