| name | kai-competitors |
| description | Competitive intelligence teardown — 5-layer analysis (signals, product, marketing, positioning, strategy) plus sales battlecard. Use when "competitor analysis", "competitive teardown", "who are our competitors", "battlecard", "competitive intel", "compare us to X", "what is X doing", or any request to research, analyze, or position against competitors. |
Run a competitive intelligence teardown using the 5-layer CI framework. Produces analysis + sales battlecard.
Phase 0: Load Product Context
Check if MARKETING.md exists in the project root (same directory as CLAUDE.md, README.md, package.json).
If it exists: Read it — skip product discovery questions. It has the product name, ICP, value prop, monetization, brand voice, current channels, and competitive landscape.
If it does NOT exist: Auto-explore the codebase to create it in the project root (next to CLAUDE.md). Do NOT ask the user what the product is. Read CLAUDE.md, README.md, PROJECT.md, package.json, landing pages, and any project files. Search for email/ad/analytics config. Then create MARKETING.md using the template from /kai-email-system. Present draft to user for confirmation.
Phase 1: Target Selection
Read from MARKETING.md. Only ask about things not covered there:
- Your product — what do you do?
- Competitors to analyze — specific names, or "find them for me"?
- Depth — quick (30 min, top 3) or deep (2-3 hours, full landscape)?
- Output need — strategy doc, sales battlecard, or both?
Load: knowledge/playbooks/competitive-intelligence.md
Phase 2: 5-Layer Analysis
For each competitor, analyze:
Layer 1: Signals (Observable Actions)
- Job postings (LinkedIn, careers page) — what roles are they hiring?
- Pricing changes — check their pricing page
- Recent feature launches — changelog, blog, Product Hunt
- Funding status — Crunchbase
- Executive changes — LinkedIn
Layer 2: Product
- Core features vs yours (feature matrix)
- Pricing model and tiers
- Tech stack (if discoverable — BuiltWith, Wappalyzer)
- Integration ecosystem
- Free tier / trial model
Layer 3: Marketing
- Traffic sources (estimate from content, ads, social presence)
- Content strategy (blog frequency, topics, SEO targets)
- Ad presence (Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency)
- Social media activity and engagement
- Email strategy (subscribe and analyze)
Layer 4: Positioning
- How they describe themselves (homepage headline, meta description)
- Who they say they're for (ICP from their copy)
- Messaging themes (what words/phrases they repeat)
- vs. your positioning — where do you overlap, where do you differ?
Layer 5: Strategy
- Where are they investing? (infer from hiring, features, partnerships)
- What are they betting on long-term?
- Vulnerabilities — where are they weak or slow?
- Threats — where could they outflank you?
Phase 3: Competitive Matrix
Generate a comparison table:
| Dimension | You | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C |
|---|
| Core offer | | | | |
| Price | | | | |
| Target ICP | | | | |
| Key differentiator | | | | |
| Biggest weakness | | | | |
| Growth trajectory | | | | |
Phase 4: Sales Battlecard
Generate a 1-page battlecard per competitor:
# Battlecard: [Your Product] vs [Competitor]
> **Kai root note:** `knowledge/`, `harness/`, and `scripts/` paths in this skill live in the Kai install, not the user's project. Resolve them against the first ancestor directory of this SKILL.md that contains a `knowledge/` folder (the Kai plugin root, `~/.claude/kai`, or the kai-cmo-harness repo). `MARKETING.md`, `memory/`, and any output files live in the current project. If a referenced `scripts/` command is not available in this install, say so, skip it, and continue with the file-based guidance — never fabricate its output.
## Quick Win Positioning
[1-sentence positioning statement when this competitor comes up]
## When We Win
- [Scenario 1]
- [Scenario 2]
- [Scenario 3]
## When We Lose
- [Scenario 1 — and how to counter]
- [Scenario 2 — and how to counter]
## Their Pitch (What They'll Say)
- "[Claim 1]" → Our counter: [response]
- "[Claim 2]" → Our counter: [response]
- "[Claim 3]" → Our counter: [response]
## Killer Questions to Ask Prospects
- [Question that exposes competitor weakness 1]
- [Question that exposes competitor weakness 2]
- [Question that exposes competitor weakness 3]
## Landmines to Set
[Topics to raise early that shift evaluation criteria in your favor]
Phase 5: Output
workspace/competitive-intel/
├── _landscape-overview.md # Full 5-layer analysis
├── _competitive-matrix.md # Comparison table
├── battlecards/
│ ├── vs-competitor-a.md
│ ├── vs-competitor-b.md
│ └── vs-competitor-c.md
└── _recommendations.md # Strategic recommendations
Quality Check
- Every claim about a competitor must cite a source or be labeled as inference
- Battlecard counters must be specific, not generic ("we're better" is not a counter)
- Killer questions must be genuinely useful in a sales conversation
- Matrix must be honest — mark where competitors genuinely win
