Competitive Brief
Run structured competitor research and produce a positioning, messaging, and content-gap brief for battlecards or fast response when rivals move.
Overview
Competitive Brief is an agent skill most often used in Idea (also Validate scope, Launch distribution) that researches competitors and delivers positioning, messaging, and content-gap analysis with opportunities and thre
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill competitive-briefWhat is this skill?
- Triggered via /competitive-brief or explicit requests for competitive analysis and market comparison
- Collects competitor names plus optional your-company context, differentiators, and focus areas (messaging, product, cont
- Web-search-driven research process per competitor with structured output: positioning, gaps, opportunities, threats
- Supports sales battlecards and rapid assessment when a competitor announces something new
- Optional focus areas span six themes: messaging, product, content, news, pricing, and market presence
Adoption & trust: 1.7k installs on skills.sh; 19.6k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You know who competes in your space but lack a current, comparable view of positioning, messaging, and content gaps you can act on.
Who is it for?
Solo founders prepping positioning, indie SaaS builders answering “why us,” or one-person marketing teams reacting to competitor launches.
Skip if: Deep financial modeling of private companies, legal antitrust work, or teams that already maintain a paid CI platform with live win-loss data feeds.
When should I use this skill?
Use when building sales battlecards, finding positioning gaps, or assessing impact when a competitor makes a move; trigger /competitive-brief or ask for competitive analysis.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You receive a structured competitive analysis with battlecard-ready comparisons, gap/opportunity notes, and threat framing tied to your optional product context.
- Structured competitive brief with positioning and messaging comparison
- Content gaps, opportunities, and threats section
- Optional feature, pricing, and presence comparisons per focus areas
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Competitive intelligence usually starts before you commit to build, but the same brief supports validate positioning and launch messaging—primary shelf is Idea/competitors. The skill compares rivals’ positioning, features, content, news, pricing, and audience—not audience persona discovery alone or post-launch analytics.
Where it fits
Map three direct rivals’ home-page promises before you pick a wedge feature.
Compare public pricing and packaging to decide MVP scope versus parity features.
Refresh messaging angles after a competitor’s launch post hits your niche.
How it compares
Research workflow for positioning briefs—not a automated SEO rank tracker or ad spy tool.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is competitive-brief for?
Solo builders and small GTM teams using Claude with connected web research who need battlecards, gap analysis, or fast competitor move assessments.
When should I use competitive-brief?
Use it in Idea/competitors before committing to a niche; in Validate/scope when comparing feature and pricing stories; in Launch/distribution when refreshing messaging after rival announcements.
Is competitive-brief safe to install?
It relies on web search and optional connectors—review the Security Audits panel on this page and CONNECTORS.md for which tools are enabled in your environment.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Competitive Brief
# Competitive Brief > If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md). Research competitors and generate a structured competitive analysis comparing positioning, messaging, content strategy, and market presence. ## Trigger User runs `/competitive-brief` or asks for a competitive analysis, competitor research, or market comparison. ## Inputs Gather the following from the user: 1. **Competitor name(s)** — one or more competitors to analyze (required) 2. **Your company/product context** (optional but recommended): - What you sell and to whom - Your positioning or value proposition - Key differentiators you want to highlight 3. **Focus areas** (optional — if not specified, cover all): - Messaging and positioning - Product and feature comparison - Content and thought leadership strategy - Recent announcements and news - Pricing and packaging (if publicly available) - Market presence and audience ## Research Process For each competitor, research using web search: 1. **Company website** — homepage messaging, product pages, about page, pricing page 2. **Recent news** — press releases, funding announcements, product launches, partnerships (last 6 months) 3. **Content strategy** — blog topics, resource types, social media presence, webinars, podcasts 4. **Review sites and comparisons** — third-party comparisons, analyst mentions, customer review themes 5. **Job postings** — hiring signals that indicate strategic direction (optional) ### Research Sources Gather intelligence from these categories of sources: #### Primary Sources (Direct from Competitor) - **Website**: homepage, product pages, pricing, about page, careers - **Blog and resource center**: content themes, publishing frequency, depth - **Social media profiles**: messaging, engagement, content strategy - **Product demos and free trials**: UX, features, onboarding experience - **Webinars and events**: topics, speakers, audience engagement - **Press releases and newsroom**: announcements, partnerships, milestones - **Job postings**: hiring signals that reveal strategic priorities (e.g., hiring for a new product line or market) #### Secondary Sources (Third-Party) - **Review sites**: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, Product Hunt — customer sentiment themes - **Analyst reports**: Gartner, Forrester, IDC — market positioning and category placement - **News coverage**: TechCrunch, industry publications — funding, partnerships, narrative - **Social listening**: mentions, sentiment, share of voice across social platforms - **SEO tools**: keyword rankings, organic traffic estimates, content gaps - **Financial filings**: revenue, growth rate, investment areas (for public companies) - **Community forums**: community forums (e.g. Reddit, Discourse), industry chat groups (e.g. Slack communities) — user sentiment ### Research Cadence - **Deep competitive analysis**: quarterly (full research across all sources) - **Competitive monitoring**: monthly (scan for new announcements, content, messaging changes) - **Real-time alerts**: ongoing (set up alerts for competitor brand mentions, press, job postings) ## Competitive Brief Structure ### 1. Executive Summary - 2-3 sentence overview of the competitive landscape - Key takeaway: your biggest opportunity and biggest threat ### 2. Competitor Profiles For each competitor: #### Company Overview - What they do (one-sentence positioning) - Target audience - Company size/stage indicators (funding, employee count if available) - Key recent developmen