AI prompts for competitive analysis: competitor identification, review analysis, evaluation frameworks

AI prompts for competitive analysis

These prompts cover the key stages of a competitive analysis workflow: identifying the right competitors to study, analyzing user reviews at scale, building a consistent evaluation framework, and synthesizing findings into a SWOT analysis with actionable recommendations. Each prompt includes bracketed placeholders — replace them with your project specifics before pasting into your preferred AI tool.

Prompt 1: Identify and categorize competitors

I am conducting a competitive analysis for a [product type] targeting [audience] in the [market/industry].

Our product: [brief description of what it does and its positioning]
Our key differentiators: [what we believe sets us apart]
Our main user tasks: [the 2-5 core things users hire the product to do]

Please:
1. Identify 5-8 direct competitors (same product category, same audience) with a one-sentence description of each
2. Identify 3-5 indirect competitors (different product type, same user problem) and explain why they are relevant
3. Suggest 2 aspirational benchmarks from adjacent industries that solve a similar interaction problem exceptionally well
4. For each competitor, note: pricing model, primary audience, estimated market position (leader/challenger/niche), and one notable UX strength based on publicly available information
5. Recommend which 3-5 should be prioritized for deep analysis and explain why

Prompt 2: Analyze competitor reviews at scale

I am analyzing user reviews for [competitor name], a [product type].

Here are [N] user reviews from [G2 / Capterra / App Store / Trustpilot]:
[Paste or attach reviews]

Please:
1. Identify the top 5 most frequent complaints, with a count of how many reviews mention each
2. Identify the top 5 most praised aspects, with counts
3. List any feature requests that appear 3+ times
4. Highlight quotes that reveal emotional reactions (frustration, delight, surprise) — these are the most actionable for UX work
5. Compare the sentiment distribution: what percentage of reviews are positive, neutral, and negative?
6. Summarize: if you were redesigning this product, what are the 3 biggest UX problems to fix based on this review data?

Prompt 3: Build a competitive evaluation framework

I am setting up an evaluation framework for a competitive analysis of [product type] products.

The key user tasks I want to evaluate across competitors:
1. [Task 1, e.g., "Sign up and reach first value"]
2. [Task 2, e.g., "Complete the primary workflow"]
3. [Task 3, e.g., "Find help when stuck"]

Please create a scoring rubric with:
1. 8-12 evaluation dimensions relevant to these tasks (e.g., onboarding clarity, task completion speed, error handling, content quality)
2. For each dimension: a clear definition, a 1-5 scoring scale with behavioral anchors for scores 1, 3, and 5
3. A suggested weighting system that reflects which dimensions matter most for [our specific audience/context]
4. A template row showing how to document: competitor name, dimension, score, evidence (screenshot reference or description), and notes

Prompt 4: Draft a SWOT synthesis from evaluation data

I have completed competitive walkthroughs and scored [N] competitors for a [product type].

Here is my evaluation data:
[Paste the completed comparison matrix with scores and evidence notes]

Our product's current state: [brief description of where we stand on the same dimensions]

Please:
1. Create a SWOT analysis for our product relative to the competition:
   - Strengths: where we score higher than the competitive average, with specific evidence
   - Weaknesses: where we score lower, with specific evidence
   - Opportunities: gaps across ALL competitors that no one addresses well
   - Threats: areas where 2+ competitors are improving rapidly based on recent changes
2. Identify the top 3 opportunities with the highest impact-to-effort ratio
3. For each opportunity, suggest a concrete design direction (not just "improve X" but "consider approach Y because competitor Z proved that...")
4. Flag any finding that is based on a single competitor and should be validated before acting on it