For Research Analysts ·
What you'll accomplish
By the end of this guide, you'll have Perplexity set up as your competitive intelligence research tool — able to produce a cited, synthesized competitive landscape overview in 10–15 minutes instead of the 3–4 hours it currently takes to do manually. You'll use it to build background sections, monitor competitor moves, and brief yourself on client industries before kickoff calls.
What you'll need
Go to perplexity.ai. Click Sign Up and create an account with your email or Google account. The free tier gives you access to web-sourced research with citations — which is all you need for competitive intelligence tasks.
What you should see: After signing in, you land on the Perplexity home page with a search/question bar in the center.
At the bottom of the search bar, you'll see a Focus option. For competitive research, select Web (the default) to search across the full web. If you want recent news about a competitor, select News instead.
What you should see: Small focus icons below the search bar — Web, Academic, YouTube, Reddit, News, and more.
Don't search like Google. Ask Perplexity like you'd brief a smart junior analyst — give it context, specify what you need, and tell it the format you want.
Example prompt:
Give me a competitive landscape overview of the U.S. direct-to-consumer pet food market. Cover: top 5 brands by market share, their positioning/messaging, pricing tier, distribution channels, and any major news or launches in the last 6 months. Organize as a table plus a brief summary paragraph.
What you should see: A structured response with cited sources — links appear as numbered footnotes you can click to verify.
Click the numbered citations to verify the information. Perplexity sometimes synthesizes across sources — the cited article may be slightly different from what Perplexity states. Check any specific stats before including them in client deliverables.
Troubleshooting: If a cited source is paywalled, Perplexity used a snippet — look for a different source to verify the specific claim.
Perplexity maintains context across a conversation. After your initial overview, drill down:
Highlight the response and copy it into your Word/Google Doc, or click the Share icon to save the Perplexity conversation link. Build your competitive section in the report from this foundation.
Industry background brief:
I need background on the [industry] industry to prepare for a client research project. Cover: market size, growth trends, key consumer segments, major brands, and current trends shaping the category. Cite your sources.
Competitor pricing research:
What is the current pricing structure for [Competitor Brand]'s [product line]? Include all tiers, bundle options, and any recent price changes. Cite sources.
Recent competitor news:
What has [Brand/Company] announced or launched in the past 6 months? I'm looking for new products, campaigns, partnerships, and any news about their market strategy. Focus on recent news only.
Consumer sentiment snapshot:
What are consumers saying about [Brand] online? Summarize the main positive themes and main complaints from recent reviews, social media, and forums. Cite sources.
Market sizing data:
What is the current size of the U.S. [category] market? I need market size in dollars, growth rate (CAGR), and projections for the next 3-5 years. List your sources and note if any figures are estimates.