Day 9 of the 12 Days of AI Plays: Competitive Product Analysis

🎄 Welcome to Day 9 of the 12 Days of AI Plays!

Today we’re taking the Holiday Operations HQ into high-strategy mode. Santa’s team may be legendary, but the North Pole isn’t the only outfit delivering seasonal magic. Rival workshops, boutique bakeries, and high-tech toy startups are popping up everywhere — and the elves need to stay ahead.

Your challenge today is to build an AI-powered Competitive Product Analysis workflow using chained agents that gather intel, benchmark performance, refine messaging, and keep watch on the evolving landscape. Think of it as Santa’s new Competitive Intelligence Command Center.

Your Challenge

Step 1: Automate Competitive Research

Create an AI field called AI Market Intel that performs lightweight competitive research by analyzing publicly searchable attributes of each fictional competitor.

Prompt example:

“Search recent, credible web sources and summarize actionable competitive insights for this competitor. Include product highlights, pricing cues, customer sentiment, and notable changes in the last 30–60 days.”

The goal is to simulate real-world competitive scanning using your competitors’ data.

Hint: As this is a fictional example, you can tell Omni to return sample data if needed

Step 2: Benchmark Against the Competition

Next, add another AI field: AI Benchmark Report.

Prompt example:

“Compare our Holiday Operations HQ product offerings with this competitor’s. Highlight areas where we lead, where they lead, gaps in features or pricing, and opportunities to differentiate.”

Encourage Omni to think in terms of:

• Speed of delivery

• Product quality

• Magical capabilities

• Cookie freshness metrics

• Workshop efficiency

• Customer delight

All very serious market categories, of course.

Step 3: Sharpen Messaging & Positioning

Create a third AI field named AI Positioning Suggestions.

Prompt example:

“Based on this competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, suggest improvements to our messaging and positioning. Include recommendations for storyteller framing, customer-facing language, and quick wins to strengthen our narrative.”

This is where Santa’s brand voice gets sharper, more magical, and more competitive.

Step 4: Stay Ahead with Continuous Intel

Add one more field: AI Trend Watch.

Prompt example:

“Identify ongoing trends, risks, or opportunities in the holiday product landscape. Recommend what we should monitor for this competitor over the next week.”

To complete the workflow, ask Omni to create an automation that refreshes these AI fields on a schedule (e.g., weekly), simulating continuous competitive monitoring.

Prompt to Omni might be:

“Create an automation that refreshes all AI competitive research fields in the Holiday Competitors table every Monday morning.”

This gives Santa’s leadership team a constant stream of updated intelligence.

Optional Extras

• Have Omni generate a “Competitive Dashboard” interface summarizing the top threats and opportunities.

• Add a sentiment score comparing consumer happiness between Santa’s operation and each competitor.

Goal of Today’s Play

Today’s challenge shows how Airtable AI can supercharge real-world workflows like competitive intelligence, strategic planning, positioning, and ongoing market monitoring.

With just a few fields and a scheduled automation, your team can:

• Gather actionable intel

• Benchmark against rivals

• Strengthen messaging

• Stay ahead of shifts and opportunities

Share What You Built!

Tell us in the comments:

• Which fictional competitors did Omni create?

• What insights did your AI Market Intel uncover?

• Did any benchmark gaps surprise you?

• What positioning improvements did the AI recommend?

• How did your scheduled automation turn out?

See you tomorrow for Day 10! 🎆✨