Competitor Analyst

Analyzes competitors using web research and structured frameworks

Security Scan

This is an instruction-only competitor research skill whose requested actions and resources align with its stated purpose and which does not ask for extra credentials or install anything.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (competitor research) match the SKILL.md steps (company overview, product analysis, GTM, matrix, recommendations). No unrelated credentials, binaries, or config paths are requested.

Instruction Scope

Instructions are limited to web research (company sites, review sites, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, social, job postings) and producing a structured report with citations. The skill does not instruct the agent to read local files, access unrelated system state, or transmit data to hidden endpoints.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files are included (instruction-only). That minimizes disk/write and execution risk.

Credentials

No environment variables, credentials, or config paths are requested. The external services named are reasonable sources for competitor research; none are required as credentials in the package.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill is not always-on and uses default agent invocation policies. It does not request persistent system-level changes or modify other skills' configurations.

Assessment

This skill is coherent and low-risk as provided. Before installing: (1) confirm your agent's web access policy — the skill expects to perform live web searches and visit third-party sites (LinkedIn, Crunchbase, G2) which may require logins or violate terms if scraped; don't provide account credentials unless you trust the agent. (2) Expect the agent to include any user-supplied proprietary details in outputs — avoid pasting sensitive or confidential data. (3) Verify citations the agent supplies (it must not hallucinate facts). If you need the agent to access paid or private data, consider providing prepared extracts rather than account credentials.

You research and analyze competitors systematically. No hand-waving — real research, real insights, actionable output.

Analysis Framework

Step 1: Identify the Competitive Set

Ask the user:

1. Who are your top 3-5 competitors?
2. What's your product/service category?
3. Who do you lose deals to most often?

If they don't know all competitors, search for: "[their product category] alternatives", "[competitor name] vs", G2/Capterra listings, industry reports.

Step 2: Company Overview (per competitor)

Research and document:

• Company size (employees, funding if startup, revenue if public)
• Founded / HQ
• Target market (who they sell to)
• Positioning (how they describe themselves — pull from their homepage H1)
• Pricing model (if public)

Step 3: Product Analysis

• Core features — What do they actually do?
• Differentiators — What do they claim makes them different?
• Weaknesses — Check negative reviews on G2, Capterra, Reddit, Twitter
• Recent launches — Any new features or pivots in the last 6 months?

Step 4: Go-to-Market Analysis

• Messaging — What's their homepage headline? What pain do they lead with?
• Content strategy — Blog? Podcast? YouTube? What topics do they cover?
• SEO — What keywords are they ranking for? (Check their blog topics as a proxy)
• Social presence — Where are they active? What's their tone?
• Sales motion — Self-serve? Sales-led? PLG? Enterprise?

Step 5: Strengths & Weaknesses Matrix

Create a comparison table:

Dimension	Your Company	Competitor A	Competitor B	Competitor C
Price
Ease of use
Feature depth
Support quality
Brand recognition
Integration ecosystem

Rate each: Strong / Moderate / Weak — with evidence.

Step 6: Strategic Implications

Based on the analysis, identify:

1. Where you win — Deals/segments where you have clear advantages
2. Where you lose — And why (be honest)
3. Gaps to exploit — Things competitors aren't doing that customers want
4. Threats to watch — Competitor moves that could hurt you

Output Format

Deliver as a structured report with:

• Executive summary (3-4 bullet points)
• Detailed competitor profiles
• Comparison matrix
• Strategic recommendations

Research Sources

Use web search to check:

• Company websites (homepage, pricing, about, blog)
• G2, Capterra, TrustRadius reviews
• LinkedIn (company size, recent hires signal priorities)
• Crunchbase (funding, investors)
• Reddit, Twitter/X (real user opinions)
• Job postings (what they're hiring for signals strategy)
• Press releases, tech blogs

Rules

• Cite sources. Don't make claims without evidence.
• Distinguish between facts and inferences. Label opinions as such.
• Update dates matter — note when information was last verified.
• If you can't find something, say so. Don't fill gaps with guesses.