KnowBe4 launches Google Workspace email security Defend

KnowBe4 has launched email and collaboration security protection for Google Workspace through its Defend product, extending its existing email security offering to Google's workplace platform.

The product targets phishing, business email compromise and artificial intelligence-driven attacks in Gmail and related collaboration tools. For organisations using Google Workspace, it adds threat detection, AI-based verdicts and employee coaching.

According to KnowBe4, Google Workspace has more than three billion users worldwide, and the new release is designed for small businesses, mid-market customers and large enterprises.

At the centre of the product is a behavioural AI model trained on more than 1.15 billion daily event signals and 16 years of behavioural data. It analyses messages across several intent signals simultaneously to identify threats such as business email compromise, zero-payload phishing and prompt injection attacks.

The service also sends immediate warnings to intended recipients when it detects a risky email. The notices are intended to turn live incidents into training moments for employees at the point of risk.

If a malicious variant is confirmed, the product links with KnowBe4's PhishER Plus system to search for and remove matching threats across Gmail inboxes. KnowBe4 said that process can be completed in under two minutes.

Early results

Before the launch, the company ran an early adopter programme to test the software in customer environments. Across those deployments, Defend for Google Workspace processed 539,384 emails, according to KnowBe4.

Of those messages, 810 were classified as dangerous threats, or one in every 666 emails. The system also identified 5,491 suspicious threats that had passed Google's native protections, the company said.

In the same trial environments, the system categorised 361,070 productivity-related emails. According to KnowBe4, that saved early adopters an average of 10.96 hours a week.

Greg Kras, Chief Product Officer at KnowBe4, said the launch combined protection and user education in a single layer for Google customers. "Google empowers productivity and collaboration. KnowBe4 protects the digital workforce," Kras said.

"Together, this new release enhances the email and collaboration security that IT and security professionals need to better protect their organisations. We are bringing explainable, multi-engine AI detection and real-time coaching together in a single, API-native layer, so every blocked threat also becomes a teachable moment. Our deep collaboration with Google enables us to offer a unified platform that delivers trust and a strong security culture," he added.

Wider market

The launch adds to growing competition in email and collaboration security, as vendors increasingly seek to supplement built-in protections from major platform providers. A key focus has been business email compromise, which often relies on socially engineered messages rather than malware and can therefore evade conventional detection methods.

Security suppliers have also placed greater emphasis on training users during live incidents instead of relying only on periodic awareness courses. The approach reflects a broader shift towards embedding security prompts into day-to-day workflows.

KnowBe4 said the Google Workspace release builds on its broader digital workforce security business. The company says it is used by more than 70,000 organisations worldwide and provides training, attack simulation, email security and tools related to AI agents.

An existing customer cited by the company pointed to the Defend system's daily operational value. "Defend's value is proven every day in the statistics shown in its threat intelligence dashboard. The banners have also dramatically increased employees' everyday vigilance to phishing attacks," Burtenshaw said.