Competitive Intelligence — How-tos & Workflows

Step-by-step guides for the most common Competitive Intelligence workflows

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Adding a Competitor

Competitors can be added manually or suggested by AI.

Option A: Add manually

1. Navigate to Intel in the left-hand navigation.
2. Click Add Competitor.
3. Enter the competitor's name (required) and website (optional).
4. Save. The competitor appears in your competitor list.

Option B: Use AI suggestions

If you're not sure who your main competitors are, or want to make sure you haven't missed anyone:

1. Navigate to Intel.
2. Click Suggest Competitors (the AI icon button).
3. Lodestone uses your industry description to generate a list of likely competitors.
4. Review the suggestions. Select the ones you want to track.
5. Click Add Selected. The selected competitors are added to your list.

Note: AI suggestions are based on your industry description. If suggestions feel off-target, update your industry description in the Competitive Intelligence settings first.

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Removing a Competitor

1. Navigate to Intel.
2. Find the competitor you want to remove in the competitor list.
3. Click the delete icon next to their name.

Removing a competitor does not delete any previously generated reports. Existing reports remain accessible; future reports will simply not include the removed competitor.

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Generating a Report

You can generate a report at any time, regardless of your automatic schedule.

1. Navigate to Intel.
2. Click Generate Report.
3. The report generation begins. A new entry appears in your reports list with a Generating status.
4. Generation typically takes a few minutes. When complete, the status updates to Completed and the report becomes readable.

Note: Report generation requires at least one competitor to be in your list. If the competitor list is empty, the Generate Report button is disabled.

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Reading a Report

1. Navigate to Intel.
2. Click on any completed report in the reports list.
3. The full report opens, displaying the AI-generated analysis as formatted text.
4. Use the back link to return to the reports list.

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Downloading a Report as PDF

1. Open a completed report.
2. Click Download PDF.
3. The report downloads as a PDF file, ready to share or archive.

Note: PDF download is only available for completed reports. Reports with a Generating or Failed status cannot be downloaded.

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Extracting Features from a Report

Once a report is completed, you can send it to the Extracts module to surface product ideas from the competitive analysis.

1. Open a completed report.
2. Click Extract Features from Report.
3. You are redirected to the Extracts module, where the AI analyzes the report and surfaces ideas as extract cards.
4. Review the extracts as you would any other extract — add ideas to your backlog or dismiss them.

Extracts sourced from a competitive intelligence report carry an Intel Report badge, distinguishing them from transcript-sourced ideas.

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Configuring the Report Schedule

1. Navigate to Intel.
2. Click Settings (the gear icon).
3. Set your preferred Report Frequency: Weekly or Biweekly.
4. Set the Day of the week when reports should be generated.
5. Update your Industry Description (see below).
6. Save. Reports will now be generated automatically on your schedule.

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Writing Your Industry Description

The industry description is the context the AI uses when analyzing your competitors. It is distinct from the Organization Description used elsewhere in Lodestone.

A strong industry description should cover:

• The market or industry you compete in
• The type of product you make
• Who your customers are
• Any context that defines the competitive landscape

Example: "We build product management software for B2B SaaS product teams. Our competitors include both dedicated PM tools and broader project management platforms that have added PM features."

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Next: Advanced Features & Customization — report scheduling strategy, AI suggestion tips, and connecting reports to your planning workflow.