Automate Competitor Research
Automate competitive intelligence gathering by fetching competitor data from Notion, browsing their websites with AI agents, analyzing market positioning and differentiators, generating strategic insights, and delivering executive summaries to Slack while tracking findings in Google Sheets.
Last updated
October 1, 2025
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Key Takeaways
- Weekly automated competitor scanning - The workflow runs every Monday at 9 AM UTC, pulling your competitor list from Notion and researching each one automatically.
- AI-powered competitive analysis - GPT-4.1 analyzes each competitor's website and produces structured insights on market positioning, differentiators, keyword opportunities, and pricing strategy.
- Executive summaries delivered to Slack - A separate AI node creates a concise summary of all findings and posts it directly to your Slack channel.
- Google Sheets tracking - All competitor data is written to a Google Sheets spreadsheet for detailed review and historical comparison.
What This Workflow Does
This workflow automates competitive intelligence by fetching your competitor list from a Notion page, browsing each competitor's website, running AI analysis on what it finds, and delivering the results to both Slack and Google Sheets. Instead of spending hours manually researching competitors, you get structured insights delivered weekly with no manual work after setup.
Use cases:
- Tracking competitor positioning and product changes on a weekly basis
- Keeping your team informed about market shifts through Slack summaries
- Building a competitive intelligence database in Google Sheets for strategic planning
How It Works
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Scheduled trigger | The workflow starts automatically every Monday at 9 AM UTC. |
| 2. Fetch from Notion | Retrieves the competitor list from your Notion page. |
| 3. Parse competitor data | A code node extracts competitor names, websites, and other details from the Notion content. |
| 4. Browse competitor websites | Needle's web browser visits each competitor's website to gather current information. |
| 5. AI competitive analysis | GPT-4.1 analyzes each competitor and outputs structured JSON with market position, differentiators, keyword opportunities, product offerings, pricing strategy, strengths, weaknesses, and recommended actions. |
| 6. Parse AI output | A transform node converts the AI response into clean JSON objects. |
| 7. Generate executive summary | A second AI node creates a concise summary covering all competitors, market trends, and strategic recommendations. |
| 8. Send to Slack | The executive summary is posted to your Slack channel. |
| 9. Prepare sheet data | A code node formats the analysis for Google Sheets columns. |
| 10. Create/update spreadsheet | The data is written to a Google Sheets spreadsheet for detailed tracking. |
Workflow Nodes
| Node | Role |
|---|---|
| Scheduled Trigger | Starts the workflow weekly on Mondays at 9 AM UTC |
| Notion - Fetch Page | Retrieves the competitor list from your Notion page |
| Code - Parse Competitors | Extracts competitor names, websites, and metadata from Notion content |
| Needle Browse Web | Visits each competitor's website to collect current information |
| AI Node - Competitive Analysis (GPT-4.1) | Produces structured JSON analysis for each competitor |
| Transform | Parses the AI JSON output into clean objects |
| AI Node - Executive Summary (GPT-4.1) | Generates a concise summary of all competitor findings |
| Slack - Send Message | Posts the executive summary to your Slack channel |
| Code - Prepare Sheet Data | Formats competitor data for Google Sheets columns |
| Google Sheets - Create Spreadsheet | Creates a new spreadsheet if needed |
| Merge | Combines the formatted data streams |
| Google Sheets - Update Multiple Rows | Writes competitor analysis to the spreadsheet |
Setup Instructions
- Add the "Automate Competitor Research" template to your Needle workspace.
- Create a Notion page listing your competitors with sections for each company (name, website, and any other details you want to track).
- Connect your Notion account in Needle and update the Notion Fetch node with your page URL.
- Connect your Slack account and configure the channel for receiving weekly summaries.
- Connect your Google Sheets account for data tracking.
- Run the workflow once manually to confirm all connections work.
Customization
| What You Can Change | How |
|---|---|
| Schedule frequency | Edit the cron expression in the Scheduled Trigger node (default is weekly on Mondays at 9 AM UTC) |
| Competitor list source | Update the Notion page URL in the Notion Fetch node |
| AI analysis focus | Modify the prompt in the AI Competitive Analysis node to emphasize different aspects (pricing, features, etc.) |
| Executive summary format | Edit the prompt in the Executive Summary AI node to change length or focus areas |
| Slack channel | Change the channel in the Slack Send Message node |
| Spreadsheet destination | Update the Google Sheets URL in the update node |
FAQ
Q: Where does the competitor list come from? A: The workflow reads from a Notion page. Each competitor should be listed as a section with their name, website, and any relevant metadata.
Q: What AI model does the analysis use? A: Both the competitive analysis and executive summary nodes use GPT-4.1.
Q: Can I add new competitors without editing the workflow? A: Yes. Just add new entries to your Notion page following the same format, and the workflow will include them in the next run.
Q: What data does the Google Sheets output include? A: The spreadsheet includes competitor name, website, market position, key differentiators, keyword opportunities, product offerings, pricing strategy, target audience, strengths, weaknesses, recommended actions, and a last-updated timestamp.
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