How to Use AI for Competitor Analysis

What we'll cover:

AI Is Not a Crystal Ball

AI might feel magical, but it doesn’t “guess” the truth. It works by analyzing patterns from the data it’s trained on. For example, ChatGPT’s knowledge only goes up to October 2023 (unless you turn on web browsing). So, if you ask it about brand-new events, it might not know. When you see AI’s answers, remember they can be wrong or incomplete. Use them as starting points or suggestions, not facts set in stone.

Gather Data and Ask Smart Questions

Tools to Consider

• ChatGPT / GPT-4: Offers strong language capabilities and can browse the web if you enable it.
• Google Gemini: Similar to GPT-4 in how it generates text.
• Perplexity: Works more like a smart search engine. It gives you quick answers and shows you the sources, so you can check them yourself.

Tips

• Share PDFs or Spreadsheets (Public Data Only): If you have publicly available statistics or competitor reports, attach them in your AI chat.
• Use Frameworks: Ask AI to categorize results with something like a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
• Rephrase & Retry: If you don’t get a clear answer, change your wording or ask from a different angle.
• Roleplay: Pretend you’re a new brand entering the market, or a competitor, or even a target customer. AI often suggests fresh ideas when you switch viewpoints.

See How Perplexity Helps

Perplexity acts like a research assistant that also shows you its sources. For example, if you ask, “What are the main challenges in the non-alcoholic beverage market?” it will give you a list of challenges and link to the articles it pulled them from. This helps you verify facts and dig deeper into each source. Then you can follow up by asking, “What are the top marketing opportunities in this market?” or “Which brands seem the most successful at targeting health-conscious consumers?”

Get More Depth with ChatGPT or Gemini

When you ask ChatGPT or Gemini similar questions, you’ll also get plenty of ideas. But don’t stop at the first answer—keep the conversation going:

• Follow Up: “As a healthy soda brand, how do these challenges affect me?”
• Focus on Specific Angles: “What markets compete with healthy sodas in terms of paid ads and audience overlap?”
• Target Specific Segments: “If I want to reach busy moms, which competing products matter most to them?”

Each time, the AI refines its answers based on your prompts.

AI Is A Conversation: Ask AI to Critique

A powerful trick is to invite AI to criticize your competitor’s campaigns—or even your own. For example, say:

“Here are three email subject lines from a recent campaign. Please critique them and suggest improvements to attract health-focused moms.”

AI will suggest new subject lines or highlight why certain phrases might sound boring or unclear. It helps you see mistakes and refine your message.

Adapt Your Strategy

After you gather the facts, run them through frameworks, and ask AI to critique ideas, you’ll have a clearer picture of how to stand out. AI can point out:

• Content Gaps: Topics your competitors cover that you don’t.
• Audience Gaps: Groups they address that you miss.
• Predictions: Possible trends or upcoming moves by your competition (although these are guesses, not guarantees).

Be Better At Competitive Analysis with Panoramata

If you want to automate this tracking, check out Panoramata. This platform monitors your competitors’ marketing activities in real time:

• See Summaries: Quickly review everything your competitors did recently—emails, ads, social posts.
• Gather Insights: Get ideas you can adapt, such as special discounts they offered or new product launches.
• AI Assistant: Ask questions like “What discounts are my main competitors running?” The AI assistant in Panoramata knows your competitors’ latest moves and points you to exact sources.
• Get Suggestions: Panoramata suggests marketing actions, such as fresh email subject lines or campaign ideas, based on what you and your competitors do.

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