Closed-lost$38,000
Kestrel Logistics
Lost to Brightledger
“They offered free setup and data migration.”Rep’s note in the CRM
19 days late
3 SepFree migration added to their pricing page
22 SepWe heard, from the buyer
All 20 AI systems
Open-source playbook · 06 of 20 · For marketing
Competitor Watch
You hear about a competitor’s new price or launch when a deal is already lost.
The systemWatches competitors’ sites, pricing, ads and posts, and sends a weekly “what changed and what it means” digest.
// The problem
The change was public for three weeks. You heard about it from a lost deal.
Nobody’s job is to check four competitors’ pricing pages, changelogs, ads and job posts every week. So changes go unseen until a buyer mentions one, usually late in the deal.
Closed-lost$22,000
Oakline Dental Group
Lost to Numbersmith
“Went with the one that already connects to Xero.”Rep’s note in the CRM
21 days late
9 SepXero integration in their changelog
30 SepWe heard, after the loss
Closed-lost$51,000
Pinecrest Foods
Lost to Rowan Analytics
“Rowan offered to lock the price for two years.”Rep’s note in the CRM
21 days late
15 SepPrice lock announced in a webinar
6 OctWe heard, on the last call
Every one of these changes was on a public page before the deal was lost. Sample closed-lost notes, fictional company.
// How it works
A radar that sweeps every day, read by a person every Monday.
It checks each competitor’s public pages, keeps a copy and compares. Every change lands on the radar: the slice says what kind of change it is, the ring says how much it matters to you.
Act on itWorth knowingLoggedPricingProductAdsHiringContent1234567891011
SlicesWhat it watches, on public pages only
- PricingPricing and plan pages
- ProductChangelogs, release notes and help docs
- AdsThe public Meta and LinkedIn ad libraries
- HiringCareers pages and job posts
- ContentBlogs, newsletters, webinars and company posts
RingsHow close it gets to you
- Act on itTouches your price, your positioning or what sales says this week.
- Worth knowingA direction to watch. In the digest, one line each.
- LoggedKept in the history so nothing is lost. Not in the headline.
BlipsOne per change, colored by competitor
- Brightledger
- Numbersmith
- Rowan Analytics
- Stackwise
Every morning
1. Check
Visits each watched public page and ad library, and saves a copy.
Seconds later
2. Compare
Finds what’s different from the last copy and ignores noise like dates and banners.
Seconds later
3. Judge
Reads each change against your price list and positioning in the Company Brain, then places it on the radar.
Monday, 8 am
4. You decide
The digest goes to the product marketing lead, who decides what happens next.
// This week’s change log
Four competitors, five signals. Eleven changes, three that matter.
A sample week for Fieldnote, a fictional reporting tool, and four fictional competitors. The numbers match the blips on the radar.
Act on itWorth knowingLogged
Brightledger
Closest rival, same buyers1PricingAct on it
Pro plan cut from $59 to $49 a seat
ProductNo change
3AdsAct on it
Six new ads: “Switch from Fieldnote in a day”
9HiringLogged
One product designer role
ContentNo change
No change: Product, Content
Numbersmith
Bigger, moving into forecastingPricingNo change
2ProductAct on it
AI forecasting launched, in beta on all plans
AdsNo change
5HiringWorth knowing
Four enterprise sales roles, East Coast
11ContentLogged
Weekly newsletter, no new themes
No change: Pricing, Ads
Rowan Analytics
Cheaper, sells to small teamsPricingNo change
7ProductWorth knowing
QuickBooks integration added
10AdsLogged
Two ads refreshed, same message
HiringNo change
6ContentWorth knowing
New webinar series on month-end close
No change: Pricing, Hiring
Stackwise
New and growing fast4PricingWorth knowing
Free plan removed, 14-day trial instead
ProductNo change
AdsNo change
HiringNo change
8ContentLogged
Two blog posts on report templates
No change: Product, Ads, Hiring
Each change is saved with a copy of the page and the date it was seen. “No change” means it was checked every day and nothing moved.
// What lands on Monday
What changed, and what it means for you.
The digest goes to one owner, not to a busy channel. For each change that matters, it says what happened, why it matters to you and what you could do. Then it stops.
The owner decides, item by item
- Update the battlecard or the website
- Brief the sales team
- Watch it for another week
- It never logs in to a competitor’s product or signs up under a made-up name
- It never contacts competitors, their staff or their customers
- It never changes your prices, pages or battlecards by itself
Competitor Watchto Maya Lindqvist, Product marketingMon 26 Oct, 8:00 am
What changed, week of 19 October
3 to act on4 worth knowing4 logged
1BrightledgerPricing
- What changed
- Pro plan down from $59 to $49 a seat a month. Annual discount unchanged.
- What it means
- Pro is the plan they pitch against our Team plan, so they’re now $10 a seat cheaper in most deals. Expect price to come up on sales calls this week.
- You could
- Give sales a two-line answer on price this week. Don’t change our price on one week of data.
Pricing page, seen Tue 20 Oct · saved copy
2NumbersmithProduct
- What changed
- Launched “AI forecasting”, in beta on every plan.
- What it means
- Our battlecard lists forecasting as their weak spot, and our forecasting page says we’re the only tool that does it. Both are now out of date.
- You could
- Fix that line on the site and the battlecard. Ask product whether sales needs a briefing.
Changelog and launch post, seen Wed 21 Oct · saved copy
3BrightledgerAds
- What changed
- Six new ads in the Meta Ad Library, all on “Switch from Fieldnote in a day”.
- What it means
- They’re going after our customers by name, with a switching message. Customers renewing soon are the ones most likely to see it.
- You could
- Check that renewal emails for the next 60 days mention onboarding help. Consider a reply ad.
Meta Ad Library, seen Thu 22 Oct · saved copy
Worth knowing
- 4Stackwise Free plan removed, 14-day trial instead
- 5Numbersmith Four enterprise sales roles, East Coast
- 6Rowan Analytics New webinar series on month-end close
- 7Rowan Analytics QuickBooks integration added
Sent only to you. Nothing goes further until you forward it.Sample digest, fictional companies.
// For your tech lead
Can we build it? Here’s what it takes.
The simple version is a page-change tool, an automation and one AI step. Plan on 2–3 days to set it up, then about 30 minutes a week for the person who reads the digest.
Tools you’ll use
| Job | Use | Or |
|---|---|---|
| Watching public pages | Visualping | Distill.io, a daily page check in n8n |
| Ads your competitors run | Meta Ad Library and LinkedIn Ad Library | Google Ads Transparency Center |
| Running the steps | n8n | Make, Zapier |
| Judging changes and writing the digest | Claude | ChatGPT, Gemini |
| Your price list, positioning and battlecards | Company Brain | a shared doc |
Access it needs
- Nothing from your competitors: it reads public pages, like any visitor
- Read access to your price list, positioning and battlecards
- A sheet for the change log, and one Slack channel or mailbox for the digest
Three ways to build it
Start simpleHalf a day
Point Visualping at each competitor’s pricing, product and careers pages. Once a week, paste the alerts into a saved Claude prompt.
Production2–3 days
n8n checks every page and ad library each morning, saves and compares copies, has Claude judge each change, and sends the Monday digest.
Custom1–2 weeks
Adds review sites, a searchable history per competitor, and battlecard update drafts for the owner to approve.
Guardrails
- Public sources only: no logging in to competitor products, no fake sign-ups, nothing behind a paywall
- Follows each site’s terms and robots rules, and checks once a day
- Every item links to a saved copy of the page and the date it changed
- The owner decides what happens. Nothing in your pricing, pages or battlecards changes without them
What to measure
- Changes you saw before a buyer told you
- Days from a competitor’s change to the owner’s inbox
- Share of “act on it” items that led to an action
- Items marked as noise, which should fall each month
Who builds and runs it
A product marketing or marketing ops person sets it up in 2–3 days; no engineer needed. Then the product marketing lead owns it: about 30 minutes each Monday to read, decide and pass the right items to sales.
Needs
01Company Brain// Want help building it?
We’ll build your Competitor Watch with your team.
In 30 minutes with our founder, we’ll look at your tools and your week, and work out what your first AI systems should be and how long they’ll take.
Book a Strategy Call
Free 30-minute call with our founder · No commitmentPallav Kaushish Co-Founder, AIxGrowth