--- title: AI Competitive Intelligence: Know Your Rivals Before the Call description: How to use AI to gather competitive intelligence for sales. Research competitors, track positioning, and win more head-to-head deals. date: January 20, 2026 author: Robert Soares category: ai-for-sales --- Sellers face head-to-head competition in 68% of deals. That's according to [Crayon's State of Competitive Intelligence research](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence). Two-thirds of your deals have a direct competitor fighting for the same business. Here's the problem: the average sales team rates itself a 3.8 out of 10 in competitive selling readiness. That gap between how often you compete and how prepared you are costs companies an estimated $2-10 million per year in deals they could have won. AI can close that gap. Here's how. ## What Competitive Intelligence Actually Is CI isn't just knowing who your competitors are. It's understanding: - **Positioning** - How do they describe themselves? What do they claim? - **Pricing** - What do they charge? How is it structured? - **Strengths** - What are they genuinely good at? - **Weaknesses** - Where do they fall short? - **Tactics** - How do they sell? What do their reps say? - **Changes** - What's new with them? Product launches? Leadership changes? This information helps you position against them. Not by bashing competitors, but by understanding the conversation your prospect is already having in their head. When someone's comparing you to Competitor X, they have specific questions. Does yours do what theirs does? Is it cheaper? Easier to implement? Better supported? CI gives you answers before they ask. ## The CI Research Problem Good competitive intelligence is time-consuming to gather. You could read their website. And their blog. And their case studies. And their job postings. And their LinkedIn posts. And their review sites. And their press releases. And analyst reports that mention them. For one competitor, that's hours of work. Most companies have multiple competitors. And the information changes constantly. [Only 44% of companies](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence) can see competitor information in their CRM. The rest are relying on tribal knowledge, outdated battlecards, or reps researching on the fly. AI makes continuous, comprehensive competitor research actually possible. ## AI-Powered Competitor Research Start with a deep dive on each major competitor. **Competitor profile prompt:** ``` Research [Competitor Name] for competitive intelligence: 1. Company overview (what they do, who they serve, their size) 2. Product/service positioning (how they describe themselves) 3. Key features and capabilities 4. Pricing structure (if publicly available) 5. Target market and ideal customer 6. Recent news and announcements (last 6 months) 7. Leadership changes or notable hires 8. Common praise in reviews 9. Common complaints in reviews 10. What they seem to be investing in (job postings, acquisitions) I'm competing against them in [your market]. Highlight what I should know. ``` This gives you a comprehensive snapshot. Update it quarterly or when significant news breaks. ## Building Competitive Battlecards Battlecards are quick-reference guides for sales conversations. [71% of companies that maintain battlecards report improved win rates](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence). When properly embedded in sales workflows, battlecards can drive a 22% increase in competitive win rates. **Battlecard generation prompt:** ``` Create a competitive battlecard for [Competitor Name]: ## Quick Facts - What they do - Founded/size - Pricing model ## Their Pitch How they describe themselves and their value prop ## Strengths (where they win) - Strength 1 - Strength 2 - Strength 3 ## Weaknesses (where we win) - Weakness 1 - Weakness 2 - Weakness 3 ## Common Claims They Make What their sales reps say, and how to respond ## Our Differentiators Why a customer would choose us over them ## Red Flags (when they're a threat) Situations where they have an advantage ## Green Flags (when we have an advantage) Situations where we're the better choice ## Killer Questions Questions to ask prospects that highlight our strengths Keep it scannable. A rep should be able to use this during a call. ``` Create one for each major competitor. Keep them in a place reps can access quickly. ## Real-Time Competitive Research Sometimes you need competitive intel on the fly. A prospect mentions a competitor you're not familiar with, or you need to prep for a specific deal. **Quick competitive scan prompt:** ``` I'm about to compete against [Competitor] for a deal with [Company type]. Quick research: 1. What do they offer for [specific use case]? 2. How do they price it? 3. What do customers say about them (positive and negative)? 4. Where might they be weak for this specific buyer? 5. What should I emphasize to differentiate? I have 10 minutes before the call. Give me the essentials. ``` This won't replace deep research, but it's better than going in blind. ## Tracking Competitor Movements Competitive intelligence isn't a one-time project. Competitors change constantly. **Competitive monitoring prompt:** ``` Check for recent updates on [Competitor]: 1. Any product launches or updates in the last 30 days? 2. New content they've published? 3. Press mentions or coverage? 4. Job postings that signal new initiatives? 5. Social media announcements? 6. Changes to their website or messaging? 7. New case studies or customer wins? Flag anything that changes how we should position against them. ``` Run this monthly for major competitors, or when you're entering a deal where they're involved. ## Using Conversational Intelligence [Companies using conversational intelligence tools for competitive analysis see 82% higher sales effectiveness](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence). Tools like Gong and Chorus capture what competitors actually say in deals, not just what's on their website. If you have access to call recordings where competitors came up, use AI to extract patterns. **Call analysis prompt:** ``` Analyze these call excerpts where [Competitor] was mentioned: [Paste relevant portions] Look for: 1. What claims did the competitor make? 2. How did the prospect describe their experience with competitor? 3. What concerns did they have about competitor? 4. What did they like about competitor? 5. How did our rep handle the comparison? 6. What worked? What didn't? ``` This ground-truth intelligence from actual deals is more valuable than anything on a website. ## Win-Loss Analysis Understanding why you win and lose helps you compete better. **Win analysis prompt:** ``` We won a deal against [Competitor]. Here's what happened: [Brief summary of the deal] Analyze: 1. What seemed to matter most to this buyer? 2. Where did we have advantages? 3. What did the buyer say about the competitor? 4. What should we repeat in similar deals? 5. Are there patterns we can use in positioning? ``` **Loss analysis prompt:** ``` We lost a deal to [Competitor]. Here's what happened: [Brief summary of the deal] Analyze: 1. What seemed to matter most to this buyer? 2. Where did we fall short? 3. What did they like about the competitor? 4. Was there anything we could have done differently? 5. Is this a pattern, or a one-off situation? ``` Over time, these analyses reveal patterns. Certain competitors win certain deal types. Certain objections predict losses. Certain positioning approaches work better. ## Competitive Positioning in Conversations CI only matters if it shapes how you sell. **Positioning prep prompt:** ``` I'm about to have a call where [Competitor] will likely come up. The prospect cares most about: - [Priority 1] - [Priority 2] - [Priority 3] Based on what we know about [Competitor]: 1. How should I position against them? 2. What questions should I ask to highlight our strengths? 3. What claims might they make, and how do I respond? 4. What should I NOT say about them? 5. How do I acknowledge their strengths while differentiating? Don't trash-talk. Be professional but strategic. ``` The best competitive selling doesn't attack competitors directly. It positions your solution as the better fit for this specific buyer's needs. ## Handling "We're Also Talking to [Competitor]" When prospects tell you they're evaluating competitors, you have an opportunity. **Competitive response prompt:** ``` A prospect just told me they're also talking to [Competitor]. Context: [Their company, their needs] Help me: 1. Acknowledge without dismissing the competitor 2. Ask intelligent questions about what they're looking for 3. Subtly position against competitor strengths 4. Plant seeds of doubt about competitor weaknesses 5. Shift the conversation to criteria where we win Keep it classy. No trash-talking. ``` The goal is to shape evaluation criteria, not to win an argument about which company is better. ## Common CI Mistakes **Trash-talking competitors.** This backfires. Buyers distrust vendors who attack competitors. Be factual, not aggressive. **Relying on outdated information.** Competitors change fast. Check your intel before using it. That feature gap from last year might be fixed. **Ignoring their strengths.** If a competitor is genuinely good at something, acknowledge it. Then pivot to where you're better for this buyer. **Information overload.** Reps don't need 20-page competitor dossiers. They need quick, usable battlecards they can reference during calls. **Not operationalizing CI.** [52% of competitive intelligence programs don't have a sales executive sponsor](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence). CI that doesn't reach sales reps in usable form is wasted effort. ## Building a CI Habit Make competitive intelligence part of your regular workflow. **Before deals:** Who are we competing against? Pull the battlecard. Update if needed. **During deals:** What are they hearing from competitors? Feed that back to improve CI. **After deals:** Why did we win or lose? Document it. **Weekly:** Scan for competitor news. Update battlecards with new intel. [60% of CI teams now use AI daily](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence), a 25% increase from the prior year. The teams that build this into their process are gaining an edge. ## Measuring CI Impact Track whether your competitive intelligence is actually helping. **Win rate against specific competitors.** Are you improving against Competitor X over time? **Battlecard usage.** Are reps actually using the CI materials you create? **Competitive mentions.** How often do competitors come up in your deals? **Time to create/update CI.** Is AI making this more efficient? [Organizations with strong CI programs report that 78% of competitive revenue was influenced by their battlecard program](https://www.crayon.co/state-of-competitive-intelligence). The investment pays off when CI actually changes how reps sell. ## Connecting CI to Your Workflow Competitive intelligence feeds into everything. Your [prospect research](/posts/ai-prospect-research-workflow) should include who else they might be talking to. Your [call preparation](/posts/ai-call-preparation-scripts) should include competitive positioning. Your [objection handling](/posts/ai-objection-handling-assistant) should address competitor-specific objections. Your [proposals](/posts/ai-proposal-generation) should differentiate against known competitors. CI isn't a separate activity. It's a layer on everything you do. ## The Competitive Edge Two-thirds of your deals involve direct competition. Most sales teams are poorly prepared for those battles. AI makes it possible to know your competitors deeply, stay current on their movements, and position effectively in every deal. The research that used to take hours now takes minutes. The teams that invest in competitive intelligence win more. The teams that use AI to scale that investment win even more. --- *DatBot gives you access to multiple AI models for competitive research. Deep research with Claude, quick scans with GPT, all in one place. Know your competitors before your next call.*