Reports

How to turn competitor research into a strategy report

A report method for converting source notes into findings, opportunities, risks, recommendations, and checks.

Summary answer

The answer in one minute

A competitor strategy report should answer the decision in front of you. Start with the executive summary, show the evidence, separate confidence levels, list opportunities and risks, then close with recommended next moves and verification notes.

Key takeaways

What you need to remember

  • A report is not a research dump.
  • Confidence labels make the report more useful, not weaker.
  • Recommendations should point to one next action.

When to use it

Use this when the decision depends on competitor evidence

  • You need to brief a founder, client, marketing team, or product team.
  • You researched multiple competitor signals and need a decision-ready summary.
  • You want to avoid sending raw AI output as strategy.

Before AI

Collect these sources before you ask AI

  • Research brief and decision to support.
  • Website, SEO, ad, pricing, messaging, and positioning notes.
  • Source dates and URLs.
  • Known unknowns.
  • Audience for the final report.

Prompt

Turn competitor notes into a strategy report

You are helping me turn competitor research into a strategy report.

My company: {{my_company}}
Competitor or competitor set: {{competitor}}
Category: {{category}}
Decision I need to support: {{decision}}

Research notes:
{{sources}}

Build a report outline with:
1. Executive summary.
2. Competitor snapshot.
3. Website analysis.
4. SEO analysis.
5. Ad analysis.
6. Pricing analysis.
7. Messaging analysis.
8. Positioning map.
9. Opportunities.
10. Risks.
11. Recommended next moves.
12. Verification notes.

For each section, include the point, evidence, confidence level, and what to verify next.

- Use the source set to build tables, charts, or report sections when that makes the decision easier to review.
- Use any provided URLs, files, screenshots, exports, or connected tool outputs before analyzing.
- Cite the source, export, tool, or URL behind any claim that affects the decision.

Variables

Replace these fields before you run the prompt

Variable What it means Example
{{my_company}} Required My company The company, product, store, or service you are comparing against the competitor. A DTC skincare brand selling refillable face wash
{{competitor}} Required Competitor set One competitor or a short list of competitors. Brand X
{{category}} Required Market or category The buying context. This helps the AI avoid comparing the wrong kind of business. Premium skincare, France and UK
{{sources}} Required Sources and retrieval targets Paste collected sources, exports, screenshots, notes, URLs to check, or the MCP/tool datasets the AI should use. Homepage copy, pricing page, top 5 ads, title tags, Semrush export, Ahrefs export, Similarweb notes, Panoramata campaign examples
{{decision}} Required Decision to support The action you need to take after the analysis. Rewrite our landing page hero and offer comparison table

Example

Use this example to match the right level of detail

Source notes you paste into AI

My company: B2B customer education platform
Competitors: four fictional platforms
Category: customer education software
Sources: website, SEO, pricing, messaging, and ad notes
Decision: choose next quarter positioning and content priorities

What a useful answer should look like

Fictional example output

Executive summary:
The sources suggest competitors sell either course hosting or customer success enablement. The less visible angle is education as product adoption infrastructure.

Confidence: medium.
Verify next:
Check current ad libraries, live SERPs, and pricing pages before final prioritization.

Steps

Follow these steps before you make a decision

  1. 1

    Define the decision

    Write what this report should help decide before generating it.

  2. 2

    Group the source notes

    Separate website, SEO, ads, pricing, messaging, and positioning.

  3. 3

    Ask for an outline first

    Have AI structure the report before drafting full sections.

  4. 4

    Show how much to trust each point

    Use plain labels: shown in the sources, reasonable guess, or needs checking.

  5. 5

    Close with next moves

    End with actions, owners, and verification tasks.

Decision rule

Turn the AI answer into learn, test, ignore, or check

Bucket Use it when Next action
Learn The competitor pattern is clear and fits your audience. Write down the principle, not the exact wording.
Test The idea could improve your page, ad, SEO page, pricing, or offer. Turn it into one small experiment with your own proof.
Ignore The competitor move does not fit your product, market, or constraints. Keep it out of the report so it does not distract the team.
Check The answer includes pricing, ranking, ad, traffic, review, or performance claims. Verify the source before anyone acts on it.

Mistakes

Avoid these research mistakes

  • Writing a long report with no decision.
  • Mixing proof and opinion in the same paragraph.
  • Letting recommendations hide the research risks.

Verification

Check the answer before you use it

  • Does every section support the main decision?
  • Are source dates visible?
  • Are unsupported claims downgraded?
  • Are risks listed before recommendations?
  • Can the reader act without another explanation?

Source notes

Keep this evidence beside the answer

This page does not contain live competitor findings. For real work, keep URLs, screenshots, dates checked, and exports next to each finding.

What you should do next

Do this next

  • Use the competitor report outline prompt.
  • Build the report with the strategy report template.
  • Run the verification prompt before sharing.

Use next