Track Predefined Competitors
Automatically monitor your competitors' websites for changes in features, pricing, and positioning, then update a Google Sheet and get notified via email
Last updated
January 9, 2026
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Key Takeaways
- Scheduled competitor monitoring - The workflow runs weekly on Mondays at 8:50 AM (Europe/Berlin) and scrapes competitor websites automatically.
- Structured data extraction - For each competitor, the AI extracts company name, description, features, pricing model, sector, databases, LLMs used, and key differentiators.
- Smart updates only - The Google Sheet is only updated when the scraped data actually differs from what is already there.
- Email notification - After updating the sheet, you get an email with a link to the tracker so you know when something changed.
What This Workflow Does
This workflow visits a predefined list of competitor websites on a weekly schedule, extracts key business intelligence from each, updates a Google Sheet tracker only when changes are detected, and sends you an email notification. The competitor list is defined in a code node and includes each company's main URL and pricing page URL.
Use cases:
- Product managers tracking how competitors' features and pricing evolve over time
- Marketing teams monitoring competitor positioning and messaging changes
- Founders keeping tabs on the competitive landscape without manual research
How It Works
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Scheduled Trigger | Fires every Monday at 8:50 AM (Europe/Berlin timezone) |
| 2. Code (Competitor List) | Defines the list of competitors with their main website and pricing page URLs |
| 3. AI Web Scraper | For each competitor, visits the main site and pricing page using browse_web_page and search_internet tools, then extracts structured data |
| 4. AI Sheet Updater | Reads the current Google Sheet, compares with scraped data, and only upserts rows where changes are detected |
| 5. Gmail Send Email | Sends a notification email with the Google Sheet link |
Workflow Nodes
| Node | Role |
|---|---|
| Scheduled Trigger | Runs the workflow on a cron schedule (weekly on Mondays) |
| Code | Returns an array of competitor objects with company name, main URL, and pricing URL |
| AI Agent (Web Scraper) | Visits each competitor's website and pricing page using GPT-4.1 with browse_web_page and search_internet tools, outputs structured data |
| AI Agent (Sheet Updater) | Uses Google Sheets tools (get_values_in_range, upsert_row, find_row) to compare and update the tracker |
| Gmail Send Email | Sends an email notification with the updated sheet link |
Setup Instructions
- Add the workflow template to Needle
- Copy the template Google Sheet to your own Google Drive
- Connect your Google Sheets account in the Sheet Updater AI node
- Connect your Gmail account in the Send Email node
- Update the Google Sheet link in the AI Sheet Updater prompt and the Gmail instructions
- Update the email recipient address in the Gmail node
- Edit the Code node to define your own list of competitors
Customization
| What You Can Change | How |
|---|---|
| Competitor list | Edit the Code node to add, remove, or change the companies and their URLs |
| Schedule frequency | Change the cron expression in the Scheduled Trigger (default: weekly on Mondays at 8:50 AM) |
| Data points tracked | Modify the structured output schema and prompt in the Web Scraper AI node to extract different fields |
| Notification method | Replace or supplement the Gmail node with a Slack notification node |
| Target sheet | Update the Google Sheet URL in the AI prompts |
FAQ
Q: What data gets extracted from each competitor? A: Company name, company description, website URL, features, pricing model, sector/vertical, databases used, LLMs used, and key differentiator.
Q: Will this overwrite my sheet every time? A: No. The AI compares the newly scraped data against what is already in the sheet and only updates rows where changes are detected.
Q: How do I add a new competitor? A: Edit the Code node and add a new entry with the company name, main URL, and pricing URL to the returned array.
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