Welcome to AI for SMB's #13! Today's issue is a companion to last week's post about pricing, but expands to focus on all of the other dynamics of competitive intelligence beyond price.
Reviews from The On-Ramp's first learners are starting to come in, with one saying, "This was the most helpful generative AI session I've participated in all year." 😊 Click here to take the first chapter completely for free by clicking here, no credit card required.
Extra, extra! Check out my appearance on "The Future of the Future" podcast + this interview with my friends over at Section + this interview with Human Pilots. There's a few more of these on the horizon I'm excited to share.
No updates since last week to the AI for SMBs Comparison Chart - but look for a major update coming next week. There's new Claude models, a ton of announcments from Google I/O last week, and some small updates from ChatGPT and Grok.
-justin
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Your biggest competitor just launched a new service that looks suspiciously similar to the idea you've been developing for months. Another rival seems to have automated their customer service overnight, dramatically cutting response times. A third competitor is suddenly appearing everywhere on social media with content that's surprisingly sophisticated.
Welcome to business in the age of generative AI, where competitive advantages can emerge—and disappear—faster than ever before.
The traditional approach to competitive intelligence, checking websites quarterly and maybe signing up for newsletters, won't cut it anymore. AI is accelerating everything: product development, marketing execution, operational efficiency, and strategic pivots. Companies that took years to implement major changes can now do it in weeks.
However, the same AI tools transforming your competitors can give you unprecedented visibility into their strategies, often in real-time. You can track their moves, understand their positioning, and anticipate their next steps with a level of sophistication that was once available only to Fortune 500 companies with dedicated competitive intelligence teams.
Here's how.
Step 1:
Product & Service Innovation Intelligence
Your competitors are likely leveraging AI to rapidly prototype, test, and launch new offerings. If they aren't, you should presume they soon will. Traditional product development cycles have compressed from months to weeks, making it critical to spot emerging trends before they become market standards.
For the first few steps in this work, you won't be "building a jig" but rather using the increasingly agentic research capabilities of your favorite model. Before starting, enable "deep research" in ChatGPT or Gemini, or turn on "web search" and "extended thinking" in Claude. Note that in ChatGPT you have a limited number of "deep research" queries monthly, depending on your plan.
Then try a prompt like this:
I need a comprehensive analysis of product and service innovations from my top competitors over the past 6 months. Please research:
Competitors to analyze:
1. [Competitor 1 name]
2. [Competitor 2 name]
3. [Competitor 3 name]For each competitor, identify:
- New products, services, or features launched
- Technology partnerships or integrations announced
- Beta programs or early access initiatives
- Patent filings or intellectual property developments
- Pricing model changes that suggest new value propositionsAnalysis focus:
- What AI or automation capabilities might be powering these innovations?
- How do these changes affect their competitive positioning?
- What customer problems are they solving that we haven't addressed?
- What patterns across competitors suggest broader market shifts?Present findings in a detailed report with sections for each competitor, plus a summary of cross-competitor trends and strategic implications.
The AI will generate a comprehensive research report analyzing recent product developments, often uncovering innovations you hadn't noticed. Pay special attention to sudden capability improvements that suggest AI integration—like dramatically faster customer service, new personalization features, or automated workflow capabilities.
In ChatGPT and Gemini, it will likely ask you a handful of questions after your initial prompt to help you further refine your request; answer with a fair bit of detail.
After reviewing the initial report, dig deeper with follow-up questions; turn off deep research for these to avoid starting new reports (especially in ChatGPT):
Based on this competitive product analysis, help me identify:
1. Which competitor innovations pose the biggest threat to our current positioning?
2. What gaps in the market have our competitors missed that we could exploit?
3. Which AI-powered features are becoming table stakes in our industry?
4. What should our product development priorities be based on these trends?
Step 2:
Marketing Strategy & Messaging Intelligence
AI has democratized sophisticated marketing tactics. Your competitors can now generate compelling content at scale, run complex A/B tests, and personalize messaging in ways that were previously resource-intensive. Understanding their marketing evolution reveals both their strategic priorities and their AI adoption maturity.
Use this prompt with deep research enabled:
Analyze the marketing strategy evolution of my key competitors over the past quarter.
Research:Competitors: [Same list as Step 1]
For each competitor, examine:
- Recent changes in messaging, positioning, or value propositions
- New marketing channels, campaigns, or content strategies they're testing
- Content volume and quality changes (signs of AI-assisted content creation)
- Social media engagement patterns and advertising approaches
- Partnership announcements, sponsorships, or co-marketing initiatives
- Website changes, new landing pages, or user experience improvementsAnalysis priorities:
- Has any competitor dramatically increased their content production?
- What new sophisticated personalization or automation have they implemented?
- How has their target audience or messaging focus shifted?
- Which marketing tactics are they using that we haven't considered?Create a comprehensive marketing intelligence report with actionable insights for our strategy.
This research will reveal marketing shifts that might indicate strategic pivots, new AI tool adoption, or changes in their target market focus.
Follow up with:
Based on this marketing intelligence, analyze:
1. Which competitor content strategies are generating the most engagement?
2. What AI marketing tools are they likely using based on their output patterns?
3. Which customer pain points are they addressing in their messaging that we're not?
4. What content gaps exist that we could exploit for competitive advantage?
Step 3:
Talent & Organizational Intelligence
The race for AI talent is reshaping entire industries. Understanding who your competitors are hiring reveals their strategic priorities better than any press release. A competitor hiring machine learning engineers might signal an AI transformation. Multiple UX hires could indicate a major product redesign.
Enable deep research and use this prompt:
Research the hiring patterns and organizational changes at my key competitors over the past 6 months:
Competitors: [Same list]
For each competitor, identify:
- New job postings, especially in AI, data science, automation, or technical roles
- Senior leadership changes and new executives' backgrounds
- Department expansion patterns based on hiring volume
- Unusual or new role types that might indicate strategic shifts
- Geographic hiring patterns that could suggest expansion plans
- Recent departures of key personnelFocus areas:
- AI/ML engineer hiring (suggests automation initiatives)
- Data scientist additions (indicates analytics investment)
- Senior leadership from tech companies (digital transformation signals)
- Customer success or service role expansion (growth or retention focus)
- Marketing or sales team changes (go-to-market strategy shifts)
Note: adjust the focus areas specific to your businesses sector and relevant titles; this list may not work for everyone.
Analyze what these hiring patterns reveal about each competitor's strategic direction and priorities.
After reviewing the hiring intelligence:
Based on this talent intelligence, help me understand:
1. What new capabilities are our competitors building that we should be concerned about?
2. Which competitor seems to be investing most heavily in AI or automation?
3. What talent gaps do they have that we could exploit by hiring key people?
4. What roles should we consider hiring based on their successful talent strategies?
Step 4:
Technology & Digital Transformation Intelligence
Understanding your competitors' technology choices reveals their operational capabilities and strategic direction. A competitor migrating to cloud-native infrastructure might be preparing for rapid scaling. New AI tool integrations suggest automation initiatives that could provide cost or service advantages.
Use deep research in Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini with this prompt:
Investigate the technology adoption and digital transformation initiatives of my competitors:
Competitors: [Same list]
For each competitor, research:
- New software tools, platforms, or technology integrations they've announced or are using
- Website functionality improvements, new features, or platform changes
- AI tool integration evidence (chatbots, automation, personalization features)
- Mobile app developments or significant updates
- Infrastructure changes, cloud migration, or scalability investments
- Technology partnership announcements or integration launchesAnalysis focus:
- Which AI tools are they integrating into their operations or customer experience?
- What automation capabilities have they developed that might reduce their costs?
- How have their digital capabilities evolved to improve customer experience?
- What technology investments suggest strategic priorities or competitive advantages?Provide a technology intelligence report highlighting competitive threats and opportunities.
Follow up with:
Based on this technology intelligence:
1. Where are our competitors gaining operational advantages through technology?
2. Which AI or automation tools should we prioritize based on their adoption?
3. What technology gaps exist in our industry that we could fill first?
4. How can we leapfrog their current capabilities rather than just matching them?
Step 5:
Customer Experience & Service Intelligence
AI is revolutionizing customer service faster than almost any other business function. Competitors implementing AI chatbots, automated workflows, or predictive support capabilities can dramatically improve their customer experience while reducing costs.
Enable deep research and try a prompt like this:
Analyze how my competitors are evolving their customer experience and service delivery:
Competitors: [Same list]
For each competitor, investigate:
- Recent changes in customer support offerings, response times, or availability
- New AI-powered customer service tools, chatbots, or automation implementations
- Self-service options, knowledge bases, or customer portal improvements
- Service quality changes based on recent customer reviews and feedback
- New service offerings or process improvements announced
- Customer onboarding or success program changesResearch sources:
- Customer reviews on Google, Yelp, industry sites, and social media
- Support page changes and new help documentation
- Service announcement pages and customer communications
- Social media customer service interactions and response patternsFocus on identifying:
- Evidence of AI automation in their customer service processes
- Service improvements that might indicate competitive advantages
- Customer satisfaction trends and common complaint patterns
- Opportunities where we could outperform their current service levels
After the research, follow-up with something like:
Based on this customer experience intelligence:
1. Which competitors are providing superior service experiences and how?
2. What AI-powered service improvements should we implement to stay competitive?
3. Where are competitors vulnerable based on customer feedback patterns?
4. What service innovations could differentiate us in the marketplace
Step 6:
Build a Competitive Intelligence Jig
Now comes the critical step: transforming all this research into an ongoing, strategic capability. Rather than conducting these analyses in isolation, create a unified system that identifies patterns, tracks changes over time, and generates actionable recommendations.
Take all the research reports from Steps 1-5 and create a new GPT (ChatGPT), Project (Claude), or Gem (Gemini) called "Competitive Intelligence" with these custom instructions:
You are my Competitive Intelligence assistant. Your purpose is to analyze competitive research data, identify strategic patterns, and provide actionable recommendations for responding to competitive threats and opportunities.
Your knowledge contains comprehensive research reports covering:
- Product and service innovation analysis for our key competitors
- Marketing strategy and messaging intelligence
- Talent acquisition and organizational change patterns
- Technology adoption and digital transformation initiatives
- Customer experience and service delivery evolutionWhen analyzing competitive intelligence:
1. Identify cross-competitor patterns and industry trends
2. Assess strategic threats and opportunities based on competitor moves
3. Recommend specific actions we should take in response
4. Predict likely next moves from competitors based on current patterns
5. Highlight gaps in our competitive positioning or capabilitiesAnalysis Framework:
- Threat Assessment: Immediate competitive risks to address
- Opportunity Identification: Gaps we could exploit for advantage
- Strategic Response: Specific actions to counter threats or capitalize on opportunities
- Trend Prediction: What competitors are likely to do next based on current patterns
- Resource Allocation: Where we should invest to maintain competitive advantageFormat responses as:
- Executive Summary: Key insights and immediate action items
- Detailed Analysis: Supporting evidence and reasoning
- Strategic Recommendations: Specific initiatives with priorities and timelines
- Monitoring Plan: What to watch for in future competitive intelligence cyclesAlways prioritize actionable insights over theoretical analysis.
Upload all five research reports as well as any relevant subsequent follow-ups from the previous steps to this jig's knowledge base*. Now you have a sophisticated AI assistant that can analyze competitive patterns and generate strategic recommendations.
*As of this writing, the need to upload files to the knowledge base of a single project is in transition. Now that ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can all incorporate searching through shared drives, this need to upload files to projects may disappear soon. For the time being, keep uploading to projects and make sure you're diligent in file naming and organization on you shared drives.
Generate Strategic Insights
Fire up your jig and start a new chat with a prompt like this:
Based on all competitive intelligence gathered, provide a strategic analysis that includes:
IMMEDIATE THREATS
- Which competitor moves pose the biggest risk to our current position?
- What specific actions should we take in the next 90 days to address these threats?MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
- What gaps have our competitors missed that we could exploit?
- Which competitor vulnerabilities could we capitalize on?STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
- Based on competitor analysis, what should our top 3 strategic priorities be?
- How should we allocate resources to maintain or improve our competitive position?FUTURE PREDICTIONS
- What are competitors likely to do next based on their recent patterns?
- What market changes should we prepare for based on competitor intelligence?Include specific timelines, resource requirements, and success metrics for each recommendation.
The benefits of this approach will compound over time. Repeat this process quarterly and you'll be able to spot longer-term trends. Set a quarterly reminder, add a link to this post to your calendar invite, and repeat this 4 times a year.
My bet is that by the third time you repeat this approach, you'll be able to just paste in a link to this post and ask AI to handle the rest :)
The New Competitive Reality
Competitive intelligence in the generative AI era isn't just about watching what your competitors do, it's about understanding how they're leveraging AI to transform their capabilities and whether you're keeping pace with the broader transformation happening across nearly every industry.
The businesses that will thrive aren't necessarily those with the best current position, but those with the best intelligence about where their markets are heading. AI has accelerated competitive dynamics while simultaneously providing the tools to understand those dynamics better than ever before.
Your competitors are using AI to improve their products, automate their operations, enhance their marketing, and deliver better customer experiences. The question isn't whether they're leveraging these capabilities, it's whether you're tracking their progress closely enough to stay competitive.
By conducting quarterly competitive intelligence cycles using AI's deep research capabilities and then synthesizing findings, you transform from reactive to proactive, from surprised by competitive moves to anticipating them. In a world where competitive advantages emerge and disappear faster than ever, that intelligence advantage might be the most sustainable competitive advantage of all.
✨ ✌🏻 ✨
If you have ideas for future newsletters, I'd love to hear them.
