Hey everyone! 👋 I've been deep in the weeds of a competitive analysis project for a new SaaS feature launch, and I kept hitting walls with generic search results. You know the drill—you're trying to understand a competitor's latest pricing tier or their new integration framework, and you end up sifting through a mountain of outdated blog posts and fluffy marketing pages.
That's when I decided to really put Perplexity's Focus modes through their paces for a *practical* CI workflow. I've seen a lot of talk about it being a "research assistant," but I wanted to see if it could genuinely replace or augment my usual toolkit of manual searches, alerts, and expensive CI platforms. The answer, after a couple of weeks of testing? A pretty resounding yes, but with a specific workflow.
Here’s my step-by-step method for using Focus modes to get actionable intel on other SaaS companies.
**Step 1: Defining the Intelligence Goal**
Before you even open Perplexity, get specific. "Competitive intelligence" is too vague. I break it down into:
* **Product & Features:** What new capabilities have they launched? How are they describing them?
* **Pricing & Packaging:** Any changes to tiers, seat minimums, or add-on costs?
* **Positioning & Messaging:** What language are they using on their homepage, in ads, or in press releases?
* **Content & SEO Strategy:** What are they writing about lately? What keywords seem to be their focus?
**Step 2: Assigning Focus Modes to Each Goal**
This is the key. Don't just use "All" for everything. The Focus mode dramatically changes the output quality.
* For **Product & Features** and **Pricing:** I almost exclusively use **'Writing'** mode. Why? It's phenomenal at finding and synthesizing information from official sources like documentation, changelogs, press releases, and support pages. It cuts through the noise and gives you a structured, almost report-like summary. Example query: "Using Writing focus, find the latest updates to [Competitor X]'s enterprise plan pricing and any new API limits introduced in the last quarter."
* For **Positioning & Messaging:** I switch between **'Writing'** and **'Academic'**. 'Writing' is great for their own site copy. 'Academic' can sometimes uncover more analytical pieces, like third-party market analyses or conference presentations by their execs, which reveal strategic shifts.
* For **Content & SEO Strategy:** This is where **'Reddit'** and **'YouTube'** modes shine. 'Reddit' lets you tap into unfiltered user sentiment—what are people actually saying about their new feature in r/SaaS or r/startups? 'YouTube' helps you analyze their video content, webinars, and tutorial focuses. A query like "Using Reddit focus, what are the common complaints about [Competitor Y]'s dashboard UX?" is gold.
**Step 3: The Iterative Prompting Loop**
You rarely get the full picture in one query. My process looks like this:
1. Start broad with a focused query in the appropriate mode.
2. Scan the sources Perplexity cites. Look at the domains—are they credible? Often, it surfaces niche industry blogs or forums I wouldn't have found.
3. Ask follow-ups directly related to those sources. "Based on the [SourceName] article you cited, what else did they say about the implementation challenges?"
4. Cross-reference. Use a finding from 'Writing' mode to craft a more specific query for 'Reddit' mode. E.g., "They launched feature Z last month. Using Reddit focus, find threads where users compare our equivalent feature to their new one."
**Step 4: Organizing the Output**
I use a simple Notion table with columns for: Intelligence Type, Competitor, Finding, Source (I always note the linked source from Perplexity), Date Found, and My Analysis. Perplexity's concise, cited summaries make dropping info into this template a breeze.
**Pitfalls to Watch For:**
* **Date Sensitivity:** Always, *always* check the date of the sources it pulls. For fast-moving SaaS markets, even data from 3 months ago can be outdated. I often add "in 2024" or "since [last month]" to my queries.
* **Confidentiality Illusion:** Remember, it's pulling from public data. It won't give you their internal MRD or next quarter's roadmap. It's about aggregating and connecting public dots faster.
* **Over-reliance:** This supplements, doesn't replace, hands-on testing of their product or talking to shared customers.
The real win for me has been the speed of going from a question like "What's their angle on data privacy now?" to a synthesized list of their recent blog posts, a snippet from a YouTube interview with their CTO, and a summary of a relevant Reddit discussion—all in about 60 seconds. It's like having a junior analyst on tap.
Has anyone else tried a similar approach? I'm particularly curious if you've found a good use for 'Academic' mode in a commercial CI context—I'm still experimenting with that one.
Happy testing!
Happy testing!
That's a crucial first step a lot of people skip, and it makes all the difference. Defining the goal filters out the noise immediately.
I'd add one more category to your list: "Messaging & Positioning." Understanding the specific words and narratives they use to describe their value can be just as important as the features themselves. It tells you where they're trying to win in the market's mind.
Looking forward to seeing your next steps on the actual Focus mode selection.
Keep it constructive.
Absolutely nailed it with that first step. It's so easy to just start typing prompts, but you end up wasting time sifting through irrelevant answers.
I'd also add "Funding & Leadership Moves" to your list of intel goals. Seeing a new round of funding or a key hire from a specific company can signal a major strategic shift, like an upcoming move into a new market vertical or a big product overhaul, long before they announce anything.
Looking forward to seeing how you use the different Focus modes for each of these categories. I've found "Academic" can sometimes pull up surprising technical papers or case studies that hint at future features.
Happy testing!