Netskope and Zscaler GenAI DLP: an alternative, or a layer alongside

If your security team already runs a SASE platform, the obvious question about AI is why you'd buy anything else. It's a fair question. Your proxy already sees the traffic, it already has DLP, and it already has an AI category. This page looks at where that's enough and where it isn't.

Maskflare wrote this page. Netskope and Zscaler are large platforms that do far more than Maskflare, and we aren't suggesting you replace either of them with us. We read their public docs, but some product material is gated or thin, and we say where that limits us.

What do Netskope and Zscaler do for GenAI?

Both inspect traffic inline, so they can see which AI apps people use and apply policy. Netskope's community walkthrough of GenAI policies shows DLP profiles with a block action and User Coach notifications for sanctioned apps. Zscaler's blog describes block, caution and browser isolation for its AI and ML application category.

Saying they only block or coach would be wrong. Netskope documents redaction on its AI Gateway, with mask, format-preserving encryption or hash methods per entity. Its scope is specific: text only, with file content, streaming responses and MCP traffic not supported in the current release. If redaction fails, the fallback setting decides whether the prompt is forwarded unredacted or dropped. It also needs an Advanced DLP license.

Zscaler's AI Guard page says its DLP redacts what must not leave and lists an AI Gateway, without configuration detail in what we could read. For both vendors, we couldn't confirm whether prompts typed into browser chat apps can be redacted inline, as opposed to traffic on the API path.

Who should stick with Netskope or Zscaler alone?

• Blocking and coaching are enough for your policy. If unsanctioned AI should simply be stopped and sanctioned AI allowed, your platform does this today.
• One policy plane matters most. Web, SaaS and private access in one place, with AI as one more category.
• You need isolation. Browser isolation that stops cut, paste and download is a different kind of control, and Maskflare doesn't offer it.
• You need a global network and mature certifications. Both publish ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II; Maskflare's audits are in progress.
• You don't want another vendor or agent. A real cost, and sometimes a decisive one.

When does Maskflare add something?

1. Blocking is pushing people to their phones. Maskflare lets the prompt through with the values replaced, so people keep working on managed devices rather than looking for a way around the control.
2. You need the real values back. Neither vendor documents restoring values in the answer in the pages we read. Maskflare restores them in the browser and in API responses, including streams.
3. You stream responses or use MCP. Masking is event by event, and the MCP route masks tool arguments and results. Netskope's docs list both as outside its current redaction.
4. Coding agents are in scope. Hooks for Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot CLI and VS Code agent mode mask tool input and output. We couldn't confirm the same on the pages we read for these vendors.
5. You want depth on European identifiers. 47 country packs with checksum validation, and 232 credential formats, each match explained. We didn't check each vendor's dictionary against this, so test your own data.
6. You want a pilot without touching the SASE project. Point one app at the gateway, or enroll ten laptops.

Netskope and Zscaler vs Maskflare, feature by feature

How does Maskflare work alongside a SASE?

Here's our view, as neither vendor addresses this in its docs. The gateway route is the simple case: your app calls Maskflare, and Maskflare calls the provider, so allow that path through your proxy. For employee traffic, the desktop agent routes only AI hosts through Maskflare, so your proxy needs a clear rule for those hosts. Avoid having two products decrypt the same connection without planning it. Test it in a small group before you commit, as we haven't published a tested configuration for either vendor.

What does a rollout look like?

1. Start with what your platform reports. Use its AI app discovery to choose the two or three apps where a block causes the most pain.
2. Agree who owns what. The SASE keeps blocking unsanctioned apps. Maskflare handles sanctioned apps where people need to work with real data.
3. Set the network rules. Add a path for the gateway or the AI hosts, and record the decision for your proxy team.
4. Run a pilot in alert mode. Ten laptops, one week. Then switch rules to mask.
5. Send events to your SIEM. Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, Slack, Microsoft Teams, PagerDuty and any HTTPS endpoint.

What Maskflare doesn't do

• It isn't a SASE, secure web gateway or CASB. It doesn't filter general web traffic, and it doesn't offer browser isolation or private access.
• AI app discovery and coaching dialogs need the desktop agent on managed devices; personal phones and unmanaged laptops are out of reach.
• Prompt-injection detection runs on MCP tool results and tool listings, not on chat prompts, and there's no topic filtering.
• SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 audits are in progress. If you need a finished report today, factor that in.

Sources and how we checked

Based on public information as of November 3, 2026. Maskflare wrote this page, and vendors change their products, so check anything that matters with the vendor. “Not publicly documented” means we couldn't find it, not that the product lacks it. If something here is wrong, tell us and we'll correct it.

• community.netskope.com/generative-ai-60/how-to-craft-effective-generative-ai-policies-a-walkthrough-7107
• zscaler.com/fr/blogs/product-insights/make-generative-ai-tools-chatgpt-safe-and-secure-zscaler
• docs.netskope.com/en/redact-sensitive-data
• zscaler.com/products-and-solutions/ai-guard-for-apps