Positioning

How to analyze competitor positioning with AI

Map competitor positioning by audience, problem, promise, proof, category frame, and tradeoff.

Summary answer

The answer in one minute

AI can help with competitor positioning when you give it enough source language and ask it to map audience, problem, promise, proof, and tradeoffs. The goal is not to find a magical empty space. The goal is to understand what is visible, crowded, weak, and worth testing.

Key takeaways

What you need to remember

  • Use competitor words before inventing positioning axes.
  • A less visible space is not the same as an open market.
  • Good positioning options include tradeoffs.

When to use it

Use this when the decision depends on competitor evidence

  • You are rewriting positioning or category copy.
  • Your team keeps describing the product in too many ways.
  • You want to know what competitors make obvious and what they leave vague.

Before AI

Collect these sources before you ask AI

  • Homepage heroes and product descriptions.
  • Audience references and use cases.
  • Proof points and customer examples.
  • Pricing or packaging signals.
  • Your own current positioning statement.

Prompt

Map how competitors position themselves

You are helping me build a competitor positioning map.

My company: {{my_company}}
Competitors: {{competitor}}
Category: {{category}}
Decision I need to support: {{decision}}

Sources:
{{sources}}

Map each competitor by:
1. Who they seem to be for.
2. The problem they lead with.
3. The main promise.
4. Proof used.
5. What they avoid saying.
6. The tradeoff they make.

Then suggest 3 positioning spaces for my company.

Do not claim a space is open unless the sources support it. Use "less visible in the sources" when that is more honest.

- Extract the exact language competitors use before creating axes, maps, or positioning options.
- 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 Competitors List the competitors you want to map. 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: AI note-taking app for sales teams
Competitors: three fictional sales note tools
Category: sales productivity
Sources: homepage copy, integrations pages, pricing pages
Decision: choose homepage positioning

What a useful answer should look like

Fictional example output

Visible positions:
- Tool A: speed after calls.
- Tool B: CRM hygiene.
- Tool C: manager coaching.

Less visible:
Pipeline risk from poor follow-up notes.

Potential position:
"Sales notes that make the next follow-up impossible to miss."

Steps

Follow these steps before you make a decision

  1. 1

    Collect language

    Pull exact phrases from competitor pages before asking for a map.

  2. 2

    Map by useful fields

    Use audience, problem, promise, proof, and tradeoff.

  3. 3

    Find crowded claims

    Look for claims everyone repeats.

  4. 4

    Mark less visible spaces

    Avoid saying open space unless the evidence is strong.

  5. 5

    Write testable options

    Create 3 position ideas with risks and proof needed.

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

  • Using vague axes that do not help decisions.
  • Trying to be opposite of competitors for no reason.
  • Forgetting that the buyer may compare you on a different criterion.

Verification

Check the answer before you use it

  • Does the map use source language?
  • Are tradeoffs named?
  • Are open-space claims softened when needed?
  • Can each position be tested on a page, ad, or sales call?
  • Does the chosen position match your proof?

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

  • Run the positioning map prompt.
  • Put the output into the positioning comparison template.
  • Choose one positioning line to test in a real channel.

Use next