The 90-Second Competitor Brief

What You'll Learn

• The exact verbatim prompt that generates a complete competitor brief in 90 seconds
• Why restricting the model to the last 30 days of credible sources produces better intelligence than an open-ended search
• How to customize the prompt for direct, adjacent, and emerging competitors
• How to build this into a recurring monthly intelligence routine
• Which model handles this best and why GPT-5.5's factual improvements matter here

Every executive knows they should track competitors consistently. Fewer than 1 in 5 actually do it -- not because the information is hard to find, but because building a useful brief from raw searches takes 90 minutes and produces something that is usually already outdated by the time it is finished.

The 90-Second Competitor Brief changes that math. One prompt, run in GPT-5.5 Instant or Claude, returns a formatted SWOT analysis and 3 immediately actionable competitive responses in under 2 minutes. The brief is anchored to the last 30 days of credible news only -- no stale reports, no outdated press releases, no noise from the company's own marketing.

Premium Content Below

The full verbatim prompt, customization options for 3 competitor types, the recurring process guide, and 5 action steps are available to PromptHacker Premium subscribers.

The Verbatim Prompt

Copy this prompt exactly. Replace the bracketed fields with your competitor's information. Run it in GPT-5.5 Instant or Claude.

Act as a competitive intelligence analyst with 15 years of experience in [YOUR INDUSTRY]. Research [COMPETITOR NAME], a [BRIEF DESCRIPTION]. Pull only from credible news sources, industry publications, analyst reports, and regulatory filings published in the last 30 days. Do not cite the company's own press releases or marketing materials as primary sources. Do not cite sources older than 30 days. Return your findings in exactly this format: COMPANY: [Competitor Name] DATE RANGE ANALYZED: Last 30 days (as of today) SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths (based only on recent evidence, 2 to 3 points): - - - Weaknesses (based only on recent evidence, 2 to 3 points): - - - Opportunities (based on market signals or competitor gaps, 2 to 3 points): - - - Threats (based on competitor moves or market shifts, 2 to 3 points): - - - 3 IMMEDIATE ACTIONS 1. [Action] -- [Why this now, and suggested owner or timeline] 2. [Action] -- [Why this now, and suggested owner or timeline] 3. [Action] -- [Why this now, and suggested owner or timeline] SOURCES List up to 5 sources used, with publication name and approximate date.

Why 30 Days and Credible Sources Only

The 30-day restriction is the most important line in the prompt. Without it, the model pulls from whatever is most prominent in its training data -- which for a known competitor is usually their most successful marketing periods, not their current state.

Specifying "credible news sources, industry publications, analyst reports, and regulatory filings" also excludes the competitor's own press releases. Press releases are useful for tracking positioning language, but they are not intelligence. A SWOT built on press release inputs is a SWOT built on the competitor's preferred narrative.

How to Customize for Different Competitor Types

Direct competitors (same product, same buyer): Add "Focus particularly on any pricing changes, new feature announcements, customer acquisition signals, or key hire/departure announcements."

Adjacent competitors (different product, overlapping buyer): Add "Focus particularly on any signs the company is expanding toward [your product category] and any partnerships that could create overlap with our market."

Emerging competitors (newer players): Add "Include any funding announcements, founder interviews, or early customer references that indicate traction. For emerging players, treat absence of negative news as a potential strength."

Building This Into a Recurring Process

Run the prompt for your top 3 to 5 competitors once a month. Save each output in a shared document with a date stamp. At the end of each quarter, review the last 3 monthly briefs for each competitor and identify patterns that individual snapshots missed.

This process takes under 15 minutes per month for 3 competitors and produces a living intelligence file that takes hours to replicate through manual research.

5 Executive Action Steps

Step 1: Run the prompt on your top competitor today

Run it now on the competitor you track most closely. The output will be ready in 90 seconds. Evaluate it against what you already know and note where it surfaced something you did not have.

Step 2: Run it on 2 competitors you track less consistently

The most useful intelligence often comes from the competitors you are not watching closely enough.

Step 3: Add the SOURCES section to your due-diligence reading list

The 5 sources cited represent the most relevant recent coverage. Five minutes of reading the headlines expands the brief significantly without requiring additional research time.

Step 4: Set a monthly calendar block for competitive intelligence

30 minutes, monthly. Block it before the month fills up.

Step 5: Share the brief format with one other stakeholder

Sales leaders, product managers, and board members all benefit from consistent competitive intelligence. Share the prompt so they can run it independently when they need a quick read on a specific competitor.