As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly choose cybersecurity software for your business.

What to actually do

1. Use a tool built for this

   The route this page recommends

2. Do it yourself

   Second choice

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 1 hour until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a document and record your users, devices, operating systems, cloud services, sensitive data, remote-working arrangements, current security controls and main security concerns.
   2. Gather current vendor product pages, technical documentation, data-processing information, contract terms, quotes and any stated certifications, then paste the relevant text and links into the prompt.
   3. Add your business requirements, customer or insurance conditions, budget, deployment preferences and the technical skills available to maintain the software.
   4. Paste the complete prompt into a chatbot and ask it to produce the requirements summary, evidence-based comparison, shortlist, vendor questions and pilot plan.
   5. Open each cited vendor document and compare it with the drafted table, correcting any unsupported feature, compatibility, certification, data-handling or contract claim.
   6. Ask a technically capable colleague or cybersecurity professional to review the gaps and pilot the shortlisted product on non-critical systems before you approve a purchase.

   Prompt

   Act as a cautious cybersecurity procurement analyst for a UK business. Help me create a shortlist, not an automatic final decision.
   
   Business context:
   - Business type and size: [describe]
   - Number of users: [number]
   - Devices and operating systems: [describe]
   - Cloud services and important systems: [describe]
   - Remote working arrangements: [describe]
   - Sensitive or regulated data handled: [describe]
   - Current security controls and software: [describe]
   - Main concerns or recent incidents: [describe]
   - Required standards, customer requirements or insurance conditions: [describe]
   - Budget and contract preferences: [describe]
   - Technical skills available internally: [describe]
   
   Vendors or products to compare:
   [paste current product names, links, quotes and vendor documentation]
   
   Produce:
   1. A concise statement of the security problem and requirements, separating facts I supplied from assumptions.
   2. A comparison table covering protection offered, systems supported, deployment, administration, alerting, reporting, integrations, data handling, stated certifications, contract terms and important exclusions.
   3. A shortlist of no more than three options, with evidence for each claim and a clear explanation of what each option does not cover.
   4. Questions I must ask each vendor before buying.
   5. A practical pilot plan using non-critical systems, including what to test and what would make us reject a product.
   6. A decision record showing which requirements are essential, which are preferences and which remain unanswered.
   
   Use only current information in the material I provide. Do not invent prices, certifications, compliance, compatibility, detection rates or security guarantees. Mark missing or unverified information as unknown. Do not claim that any product makes the business secure or guarantees Cyber Essentials compliance. Tell me which conclusions require review by a qualified cybersecurity professional.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

3. Hand it to a person

   The distant third

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.