Cybernews launches AI trustworthiness ranking for 500 companies

Cybernews has introduced a yearly ranking that scores 500 AI companies across security, data privacy, organizational transparency and public perception. The first list puts Google’s Gemini at No. 1 and finds widespread gaps in how AI firms disclose training data use and retention practices.

Why it matters: - The ranking gives users a single score to compare how responsibly AI companies handle sensitive data and governance. - The project focuses on the areas that most affect real-world trust: security, privacy, transparency and public perception. - Cybernews says the annual update will help track whether AI companies improve over time.

What happened: - Cybernews launched the AI Trustworthiness Ranking on August 18, 2026. - The project evaluates 500 AI companies from 36 countries using publicly available information. - Each company gets a Trustworthiness Score from 0 to 100. - Scores are based on four weighted pillars: security, data privacy, organizational transparency and public perception. - Companies scoring 75 or higher are named AI Trustworthiness Leaders of 2026. - The ranking covers 21 AI categories, including assistants, productivity tools, coding, music and creative platforms. - The ranking will be updated yearly. - Google’s Gemini tops the initial list. - The top 10 also includes Krisp, Fireflies.ai, Adobe, Magnific, Writesonic, Veryfi, Salesforce, Grammarly and Lovable.

The details: - The AI Trustworthiness Ranking is guided by an advisory board of experts in AI, cybersecurity and technology. - Dr. Akshika Wijesundara said AI systems are increasingly taking actions, reading inboxes, moving money and making decisions on users’ behalf. - Wijesundara said companies that clearly show how they protect data, use it and govern AI permissions will have an advantage in earning long-term trust. - Voldemaras Kadys said security and privacy are about reputation and trust, not only legal compliance. - Kadys said companies can quickly lose customer trust if they are not transparent about data practices or suffer a security incident. - Office & Productivity had the highest average Trustworthiness score at 78 out of 100. - Music & Audio had the lowest average score at 54 out of 100. - Security had the lowest average score among the four pillars at 32 out of 100. - Organizational transparency had the highest average score at 90 out of 100. - For the Data Privacy pillar, Cybernews reviewed the privacy policies of all 500 companies. - The review examined how clearly companies explain data collection, sharing, use and retention. - 63% of companies do not clearly disclose whether they use user data to train AI models. - Of those, 42% do not address AI training on user data in their privacy policies at all. - Another 21% give only vague information. - 65% of companies do not clearly disclose how long they retain user data. - 9% do not mention retention or deletion at all. - 56% mention retention only vaguely, without precise time periods.

Between the lines: - The results suggest the AI industry is stronger at presenting itself clearly than at proving it protects data. - The weak security score points to a trust gap that could matter more as AI tools get access to emails, files, payments and other sensitive systems. - The privacy findings show that even widely used AI products may leave users guessing about how their data is handled.

What's next: - Cybernews will refresh the ranking each year. - Future editions will show whether AI companies improve disclosures, security and transparency as the market matures. - The annual scorecard may become a reference point for buyers choosing AI tools for work and personal use.

The bottom line: - Cybernews is trying to make AI trust measurable, and the first ranking suggests the industry still has major gaps in security and privacy transparency.