Gaining detailed insights into competitors is crucial for making strategic decisions and gaining an edge. Competitor analysis helps identify threats, opportunities, and weaknesses to inform everything from product roadmaps to go-to-market strategies. However, compiling comprehensive competitive intelligence can be extremely time and labor intensive through traditional research methods.
AI tools like ChatGPT have the potential to streamline and enhance competitor analysis in powerful new ways. I’ve crafted a set of 34 customizable ChatGPT prompts specifically designed to extract key competitor insights for strategic decision making.
These prompts enable you to leverage AI to automate the collection of intel on competitors’ products, marketing, financials, hiring, IP, supply chains, leadership, expansion plans, customer sentiment, web analytics, legal issues, sales teams, and overall viability. The prompts have been optimized to return detailed, structured responses with graphs, metrics, and actionable recommendations.
By providing prompts for competitor topics ranging from new market entrants to M&A targets, you can gain a holistic 360 view of the competitive landscape. The prompts include instructions for customizing each query on the fly for your specific competitors and use cases. Rather than aimless research, you can take a more systematic approach to compiling comparative insights.
Automating aspects of competitive intelligence with AI allows analysts to focus their specialized expertise on interpretation and strategy. Combining AI-generated competitor research as an input can lead to higher quality strategic planning and execution.
Overall, purpose-built ChatGPT prompts are a promising new tool to add to your competitive intelligence toolkit. With some thoughtful prompting, AI assistants can take on the heavy lifting of competitor research and analysis. The time savings add up to better, faster decisions powered by data-driven insights.
Here are 34 ChatGPT prompts with customization instructions for a competitor analysis:
Table of Contents
1. Summarize key insights about a competitor’s new product launch
Prompt Text:
Please provide a detailed summary of the key insights and takeaways regarding [Competitor name]’s launch of their new [Product name] product on [Date]. In your summary, include an overview of the product features and target audience, an analysis of the product pricing and positioning strategy, any revealed marketing/promotion plans, what this product launch indicates about the competitor’s overall business strategy, and your assessment of the likelihood of success/impact based on what we know. Base your summary only on factual information available publicly about the launch at this current time. Provide the summary in a few concise paragraphs in a bulleted or numbered list format.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert name of competitor company
- [Product name] – insert name of new product launched
- [Date] – insert launch date
2. Compare two competitors’ social media strategies and engagement
Prompt Text:
Please write a detailed comparison of the social media strategies and engagement for [Competitor A] and [Competitor B]. In your report, compare their approaches across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and any others relevant for their target demographics. Analyze and contrast their social content types/formats, posting frequency, follower growth over the past year, engagement rates, social listening results, influencer/advocacy marketing, paid social investments, and overall effectiveness at driving awareness and leads. Identify key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or differences in their strategies and provide data to support your assessment. Provide the comparison overview in a structured report format.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor A] – insert name of first competitor
- [Competitor B] – insert name of second competitor
3. Analyze a competitor’s pricing strategy over the past 5 years
Prompt Text:
Please provide a comprehensive analysis of [Competitor name]’s pricing strategy and changes over the past 5 years for their [Product/Service name] business. In your report, outline their historical pricing structure including key tiers, packages/options, discounts, and promotions. Track and explain any significant pricing changes over this period. Analyze the impact of pricing adjustments based on market conditions, competitive landscape, and customer segments. Assess the effectiveness of their pricing strategy in driving adoption and revenue growth. Identify any opportunities where they could improve or adjust their pricing model based on this analysis. Provide relevant pricing data/charts to support your assessment.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
- [Product/Service name] – insert their product or service name
4. Identify emerging trends in our industry based on recent competitor activities
Prompt Text:
Based on a competitive analysis of key players in the [Industry name] industry over the past 6-12 months, please identify the most significant emerging trends, innovations, and developments. In your report, outline any new technologies, products, business models, partnerships, marketing approaches, or other changes observed across top competitors in the industry. Analyze what these competitor moves suggest about future directions and growth opportunities within the overall industry. For each major trend identified, provide 2-3 specific examples from major competitors that support your assessment, along with data or evidence available. Provide the overview in a structured, logically ordered list.
Prompt Customization:
- [Industry name] – insert relevant industry name
5. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor’s marketing campaign
Prompt Text:
Please provide an objective evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in [Competitor name]’s latest marketing campaign for [Product/service name]. In your assessment, analyze their campaign strategy, messaging, creative assets, media mix/placement, use of influencers, and metrics on engagement, conversions, and ROI. Identify the specific elements of the campaign that are working well, and not so well, in reaching the target audience and driving business results based on available data and benchmarks. Provide your perspective on how the campaign could potentially be improved or optimized given any weaknesses. Include representative examples or data to illustrate your points clearly. Summarize the key takeaways in a SWOT analysis format.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
- [Product/service name] – insert product or service marketed
6. Assess the talent and leadership at a competitor company
Prompt Text:
Please provide an assessment of the talent, experience, and leadership capabilities at [Competitor name] based on an analysis of available profiles of their executive team, leadership, key employees, board members, advisors etc. In your report, give an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of their leadership bench based on background, skills, diversity, notable achievements etc. Identify any gaps in critical roles, capabilities, or experience needed to effectively compete. Assess the company culture and morale based on public information like reviews. Provide your perspective on how their talent and leadership positioning impacts their ability to execute on strategy. Identify 2-3 ways they could potentially improve their talent/leadership capabilities.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
7. Report on a competitor’s latest funding round and investors
Prompt Text:
Please summarize the key details on [Competitor name]’s latest funding round reported on [Date]. In your report, include the amount raised, valuation, type of funding (VC, private equity etc), key new investors, total capital raised to date, stated use of funds, any notable investors participating, terms or details disclosed, and your assessment of how this funding round could impact their competitive position. Additionally, analyze their funding momentum over time, major investors backing them, and remaining funding needs to achieve scale or liquidity. Provide your perspective on how well funded they are compared to key competitors based on this latest round.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
- [Date] – insert date funding round was announced/closed
8. Outline the key differentiators between our product and a competitor’s
Prompt Text:
Please compare and contrast [Our product name] with [Competitor name]’s [Product name] to highlight the key areas of differentiation between the products and their positioning. Outline the unique features, functionality, capabilities, integrations, user experience etc that makes [Our product name] different from or better than [Competitor product]. Be specific on how [Our product] is differentiated in pricing, target customers, depth/breadth of offering, business model etc. Back up your points with descriptions of specific unique features or value adds versus the competitor. Provide your overall assessment of our competitive advantage based on this analysis.
Prompt Customization:
- [Our product name] – insert our product name
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor company name
- [Competitor product] – insert competitor product name
9. Describe a competitor’s potential acquisition targets and rationale
Prompt Text:
Based on an analysis of [Competitor name]’s business, strategy, M&A history and stated direction, please identify and describe up to 3 companies that could be potential and logical acquisition targets for them in the next 6-12 months. For each potential target, explain the rationale of why the acquisition would make sense for [Competitor name] by outlining strategic fit, synergies, financial implications, market potential, talent gains and other benefits. Provide an assessment of the likelihood of the deal occurring considering any regulatory risks, cultural fit, or complications.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
10. Analyze results of a recent competitor user survey
Prompt Text:
Please analyze the key takeaways from the user survey results recently released by [Competitor name] on their [Product name] customers. Review the publicly shared details of the survey methodology, sample size, response rates, questions asked, and summary of key insights highlighted by the competitor. Based on the available information, identify 2-3 of the most significant findings from the user survey from a competitive analysis perspective. For each, explain how this user feedback could indicate opportunities, risks or inform strategic decisions for the competitor based on your perspective. Also assess how our own user satisfaction for [Our product] may compare based on available data.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
- [Product name] – insert name of competitor’s product
- [Our product] – insert name of our own product
11. Identify gaps in a competitor’s product portfolio compared to ours
Prompt Text:
Please analyze [Competitor name]’s product portfolio and roadmap within the [Market] space and identify the biggest gaps you see compared to [Our company]’s offerings. Outline areas or specific use cases where our products clearly surpass or outcompete their products in features, functionality, or capabilities. Provide examples of needs we serve or value we provide that they lack in their current lineup. Identify any missing products or solutions in their portfolio where [Our company] could have an advantage in focusing on. Describe opportunities to leverage these competitive gaps in our own product strategy and positioning. Support your analysis with examples of our strengths versus their vulnerabilities.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
- [Market] – insert relevant market or industry
- [Our company] – insert our company name
12. Evaluate potential risks/threats associated with a competitor’s expansion plans
Prompt Text:
Based on [Competitor name]’s announced plans to expand into the [new market/region] over the next 3-5 years, please assess the potential competitive risks and threats this poses for [Our company]. In your analysis, outline the specifics of their expansion strategy, timeline, and investment levels that could impact our market. Identify the ways this expansion could directly threaten [our company]’s market share, growth, pricing power, costs, value proposition etc. and provide support for why. Suggest at least 3 proactive steps [our company] could take to mitigate these risks and competitive threats as [competitor] enters this new territory.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
- [new market/region] – insert market or region they are entering
- [Our company] – insert our company name
13. Assess the quality of a competitor’s customer support and engagement
Prompt Text:
Please evaluate and compare the quality of [Competitor name]’s customer support and engagement against industry best practices and standards. In your analysis, identify how they provide technical support and service (channels, response times etc), handle common issues like onboarding/setup and troubleshooting, solicit customer feedback, engage users via community/social, conduct training or education, and overall relationship management. Where do they excel or fall short versus competitors and expectations? Provide representative examples or evidence to support your assessment. Offer 2-3 recommendations on how they could improve their customer experience and loyalty through better support and engagement.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
14. Summarize a competitor’s content marketing approach and performance
Prompt Text:
Please summarize and evaluate [Competitor name]’s content marketing strategy over the past year. Analyze the types of content they produce, topics covered, production quality, content channels/distribution, promotion tactics, contributor network, and their overall effectiveness based on available data. Identify any notable best practices they demonstrate or innovative approaches compared to competitors. Provide metrics or estimates on reach, engagement, lead generation, and ROI from their content program. Offer your perspective on 2-3 ways they could improve their content marketing performance and results.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
15. Compare a competitor’s financials to industry benchmarks
Prompt Text:
Please analyze [Competitor name]’s key financial metrics and performance over the past 3 years relative to industry benchmarks and top competitors. Focus your comparison on metrics including revenue growth, profitability, margins, cash flow, debt levels, and valuation multiples. Identify any notable strengths or weaknesses in their financial profile and performance versus the industry average. Provide your assessment of the quality and sustainability of their growth and profitability. Suggest 2-3 ways they could potentially improve their financial performance based on this analysis.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
16. Identify key partners and collaborators for a competitor
Prompt Text:
Based on your research of announcements, news, and industry connections, please identify the key partners, strategic alliances, integration partners, channel partners, and other collaborators [Competitor name] is working the most closely with currently. Analyze the nature of those relationships and which partnerships may be most crucial for their competitive success. For their 3-5 most important partnerships/collaborators, explain the potential strategic value and benefits provided to the competitor. Identify any partnerships we should consider exploring to match. Provide this overview in a bulleted list format ordered by significance.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
17. Outline the technology stack behind a competitor’s product or platform
Prompt Text:
Please outline the core technologies that make up the technology stack and architecture behind [Competitor name]’s [Product name] based on available information. Identify details of their tech stack like programming languages used, frameworks leveraged, databases, cloud hosting providers, APIs, dev tools, payment systems, analytics tools, and other key platforms and services that enable their product capabilities and infrastructure. For any proprietary tech provide details available. Offer your perspective on the strengths or weaknesses of their technology platform compared to alternatives.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
- [Product name] – insert name of competitor’s product
18. Analyze a competitor’s global expansion strategy
Prompt Text:
Please analyze [Competitor name]’s global expansion strategy and plans for major growth markets like [Region 1], [Region 2], [Region 3] etc. Outline their timeline, investment levels, business model, partnerships, HR and operational capabilities established in each market. Compare their approach to other industry players expanding globally. Identify unique risks, challenges, and opportunities they face based on their specific expansion strategy and execution capabilities. Assess the likelihood of their success in achieving meaningful market share in target regions.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
- [Region 1], [Region 2], [Region 3] – insert specific regions they are targeting
19. Evaluate media coverage and PR for a competitor launch
Prompt Text:
Please evaluate the media coverage, publicity and PR results achieved by [Competitor name] for their recent launch of [Product name]. Analyze quantity and quality of coverage by top media outlets, journalists, influencers, and experts relevant for their industry and target market. Assess effectiveness of PR messaging, news angles, media targeting, and results based on available coverage data. Identify who some of their key media relationships are. Provide metrics estimating the overall reach, impressions, and media value generated. Offer suggestions on how their PR and messaging strategy could potentially be improved or expanded to achieve better results.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
- [Product name] – insert name of launched product
20. Assess the UX and UI of a competitor’s website/app
Prompt Text:
Please provide an expert assessment of the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design of [Competitor name]’s website and/or mobile app. Outline strengths and weaknesses of their information architecture, navigation, page layouts, visual design, interaction flows, and overall usability. Compare against industry best practices and top competitors. Identify any notable innovations or effectiveness for their target users. Suggest 2-3 opportunities to improve the experience based on your analysis and testing. Support your assessment with representative examples/screenshots of their UX/UI execution.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
21. Describe the key features of a competitor’s newest product
Prompt Text:
Please summarize the key capabilities, features and technology behind [Competitor name]’s newest product called [Product name] launched on [date]. Outline the product’s main uses, benefits, differentiators, and highlights based on available specifications, promotional materials, and early product reviews/testing. Identify how this product compares against earlier versions and competitive offerings. Assess potential customer demand and reactions to the product so far. Provide your perspective on the overall uniqueness and likely impact of this product for the target market.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
- [Product name] – insert name of new product
- [Date] – insert launch date
22. Analyze a competitor’s LinkedIn hiring patterns and trends
Prompt Text:
Please analyze the key hiring trends for [Competitor name] over the last 12 months based on data from LinkedIn to identify priorities, growth areas, and changes in strategic focus. In your overview, outline shifts in key roles, capabilities, and departments being hired for based on openings, new hires, and talent acquisitions. Compare their hiring against previous years and industry benchmarks. Assess what their hiring priorities, growth areas, and skill needs suggest about current strategic or expansion plans. Recommend 2-3 ways we could adjust our own hiring based on these competitor trends.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
23. Evaluate a competitor’s sustainability initiatives
Prompt Text:
Please analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of [Competitor name]’s environmental sustainability and social responsibility initiatives based on publicly available information. Outline their specific goals, progress, and investments related to areas like renewable energy, emissions reduction, supply chain ethics, diversity and inclusion, governance, and community engagement. Compare their efforts against top competitors and identify potential gaps. Provide 2-3 recommendations on ways [Competitor name] could expand their initiatives to better meet industry leadership standards and consumer expectations.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
24. Assess potential M&A targets for a competitor
Prompt Text:
Based on your analysis of the competitive landscape, identify up to 3 potential acquisition targets that would make strategic sense for [Competitor name] to pursue in the next 6-12 months. For each target, explain why the acquisition would be beneficial in terms of strategic fit, expanding capabilities, gaining customers/market share, technology advantages, talent, IP, etc. Provide an assessment of the feasibility of the deal and potential risks or obstacles. Rank your recommendations in order of likelihood and strategic benefit. Support your analysis with examples of [Competitor name]’s needs, M&A history, and previous statements by leadership on priorities.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
25. Describe cultural differences that may impact competition in new markets
Prompt Text:
When expanding into international markets like [Country/Region], [Competitor name] needs to understand cultural differences that may impact marketing, partnerships, product adoption, media outreach, sales, and overall competition. Please overview 2-3 major cultural factors, norms, or dynamics specific to [Country/Region] that are important to consider compared to our domestic market. Explain how each could potentially influence business development, communication styles, work processes, customer expectations, media relationships, government relations, and competitive strategy in this region. Provide representative examples and your recommendations on how [Competitor name] can adapt for success in [Country/Region].
Prompt Customization:
- [Country/Region] – insert relevant country/region
- [Competitor name] – insert competitor name
26. Compare patent filings by a competitor over time
Prompt Text:
Please analyze and compare [Competitor name]’s patent filing history over the past 5 years. Outline any significant trends in terms of volume of filings, technology areas/categories, filing jurisdictions, new applications vs continuations, key inventors, or assignees. Identify 2-3 areas of strategic technology focus based on their patent activity. Assess how their recent patent strategy compares to earlier periods and what their IP activity suggests about current R&D priorities and investment. Benchmark against other top competitors in the industry. Provide charts or graphs to visualize key trends and data from your analysis.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor
27. Analyze a competitor’s supply chain and manufacturing strategy
Prompt Text:
Please analyze [Competitor name]’s supply chain structure, sourcing, manufacturing footprint, and distribution model based on available information. Identify strengths or weaknesses compared to top industry competitors. Assess key risks, dependencies, or opportunities related to their supply chain operations. Suggest 2-3 ways they could potentially improve supply chain performance through vendor diversification, localization, inventory management, logistics partnerships etc. Provide representative examples or data points to illustrate your assessment.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant company name
28. Identify emerging legal or regulatory issues facing a competitor
Prompt Text:
Please outline the key legal, compliance, and regulatory issues [Competitor name] faces over the next 3-5 years based on analysis of their business practices, operations, leadership priorities and pending laws and regulations in key jurisdictions. Provide at least 2 examples of specific laws, regulations, or standards they must address that pose risks, require changes to strategy or products, or provide opportunities to improve compliance before competitors. Assess the materiality of these issues and their likelihood to impact [Competitor name] based on available data.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
29. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor’s sales team
Prompt Text:
Please assess the strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities of [Competitor name]’s sales organization relative to other top players in the industry. In your analysis, identify qualities of their sales team based on available data such as size, structure, hiring criteria, onboarding/training, compensation, sales processes, market expertise, deal closing ability, retention, and overall productivity. Compare against our own sales team. Provide specific examples of areas where their sales team excels or underperforms based on your expertise. Offer 2-3 recommendations on how they can improve sales performance.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
30. Evaluate the leadership/governance of a competitor organization
Prompt Text:
Please assess the quality, experience, and capabilities of [Competitor name]’s executive leadership team and board of directors based on available profiles and track records. Identify notable strengths or gaps in their leadership bench and governance structure compared to leading companies in their industry. Analyze their background, diversity, previous roles, expertise, thought leadership, and previous success to determine strengths and weaknesses. Assess potential risk areas or advisors that could benefit the leadership team. Compare against our own company leadership.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant company name
31. Summarize customer sentiment toward a competitor on social media
Prompt Text:
Please analyze recent social media conversations by customers and users of [Competitor name] to summarize key customer sentiments, feedback, and perceptions. Review conversations on platforms like Twitter, Reddit, Facebook groups, forums, review sites, and blogs focused on [Competitor] over the past 6 months. Identify common themes, trends, or insights in their customer experience, pain points, product opinions, support issues, recommendations etc. Synthesize your findings into 2-3 paragraphs highlighting the most important customer sentiment takeaways and opportunities or risks identified for the competitor.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
32. Analyze web traffic and SEO metrics for a competitor’s website
Prompt Text:
Please analyze [Competitor name]’s website performance over the past 6 months focused on key SEO and traffic related metrics using available data. Compare against other top industry competitor websites on metrics like global rank, organic keywords/traffic, paid search traffic, referral sources, page speed, bounce rates, time on site, pages per visit etc. Identify 2-3 major opportunities to improve their organic visibility, content optimization, backlink profile, site optimization, and overall web traffic based on this analysis. Provide representative data or graphs from tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Similarweb to quantify findings.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant company name
33. Identify a competitor’s advocacy groups, associations and partnerships
Prompt Text:
Please identify the key industry advocacy groups, non-profits, standards bodies, trade associations, and other strategic partnerships that [Competitor name] actively participates in based on available data. For their top 3-5 affiliations, describe their level of participation, leadership roles, and potential benefits they aim to achieve through engagement like influencing regulations, networking, lead generation etc. Compare their advocacy and partnership focus to that of other competitors. Recommend 1-2 strategic groups [Competitor name] should consider joining to better meet their policy, marketing or relationship goals.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name
34. Assess viability of a competitor’s business model long-term
Prompt Text:
Please assess the long-term viability and sustainability of [Competitor name]’s overall business model over the next 5-10 years. Outline the key components of their business model including value proposition, target customers, key partners, revenue streams, cost structure etc. Identify and explain potential risks, weaknesses, or assumptions that could threaten the sustainability of their business long-term. Compare the viability of their model versus other competitors. Provide data or examples that back up your assessment. Offer 2-3 recommendations on what [Competitor name] could do to improve the resilience of their business model over the long run.
Prompt Customization:
- [Competitor name] – insert relevant competitor name