The 3-Tool AI Workflow That Creates Competitive Battlecards in 30 Minutes
How FutureCraft hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills combine ChatGPT custom GPTs, Deep Research, and Gamma to transform competitive intelligence from a week-long project into a 30-minute workflow
The 3-Tool AI Workflow That Creates Competitive Battlecards in 30 Minutes
How FutureCraft hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills combine ChatGPT custom GPTs, Deep Research, and Gamma to transform competitive intelligence from a week-long project into a 30-minute workflow
Most marketing teams spend weeks creating competitive battlecards that end up outdated before they're even distributed. Meanwhile, sales teams are left guessing about competitors' positioning, pricing, and messaging—losing deals they could have won with the right intelligence.
In this episode of the FutureCraft Go-to-Market podcast, co-hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills demonstrate a breakthrough AI workflow that compresses competitive intelligence gathering and battlecard creation from weeks to minutes. Their three-tool approach delivers 80-85% of what expert analysts provide, but in a fraction of the time.
Note: This content is adapted from the FutureCraft podcast transcript, edited for clarity and readability.
Critical Questions: What Marketing Leaders Are Really Asking
Before diving into the workflow, here are the urgent questions driving marketing and sales teams to seek faster competitive intelligence solutions:
How do you keep competitive intelligence current without hiring a full-time analyst?
Traditional competitive research requires dedicated resources and weeks of manual work. AI-powered workflows can deliver 80-85% of expert-level insights in under 30 minutes, allowing teams to update battlecards quarterly instead of annually.
What's the fastest way to get sales teams the competitor insights they actually need?
Sales teams need specific, actionable intelligence: positioning differences, pricing models, and objection handling. The ChatGPT + Deep Research + Gamma workflow creates ready-to-use battlecards that sales teams can immediately apply in prospect conversations.
How can you simulate customer feedback without expensive focus groups?
Custom GPTs can simulate digital buyer focus groups, providing instant feedback on messaging, positioning, and competitive advantages. While not replacing human research entirely, it offers rapid validation and direction.
Why are most competitive battlecards ignored by sales teams?
Traditional battlecards are often too generic, outdated, or poorly formatted. AI-generated battlecards can be customized by region, industry, or deal size, and updated continuously based on new market intelligence.
What tools do you need to build automated competitive intelligence workflows?
The three-tool stack includes ChatGPT (for custom GPTs and focus groups), Deep Research GPT (for automated market research), and Gamma (for presentation-ready output). Each tool handles a specific part of the workflow without requiring technical expertise.
How do you ensure AI-generated competitive intelligence is accurate enough for sales teams?
AI provides approximately 80% accuracy, which significantly exceeds what most sales teams currently have. The remaining 20% requires human expertise for industry-specific nuances, objection handling, and strategic positioning.
Can this workflow help new hires ramp up faster on competitive landscape?
Yes. New team members can quickly generate comprehensive competitive overviews, understand market positioning, and create reference materials that accelerate their learning curve from months to weeks.
The Complete AI Workflow: From Research to Ready-to-Use Battlecards
Ken Roden and Erin Mills have transformed competitive intelligence from a quarterly project into a continuous capability. Their workflow demonstrates how AI tools can work together to deliver professional-grade results that rival traditional market research.
Phase 1: Digital Focus Groups with Custom GPTs
The workflow begins with ChatGPT custom GPTs configured to simulate buyer focus groups. As Ken explains: "I created this focus group using standard functionality within ChatGPT. You put in your company name, and then you can create a description for people to access it. It was pretty easy from the backend to do."
This digital focus group provides immediate feedback on positioning, messaging, and competitive advantages. While not replacing human research, it offers rapid validation and direction for competitive positioning.
Phase 2: Automated Market Research with Deep Research GPT
Deep Research GPT handles comprehensive competitive analysis, as Erin demonstrates: "We're going to show one of our favorite tools within ChatGPT, which is Deep Research. I have found it to be such a time saver for research. In this example, Deep Research looked at 42 sources in 11 minutes."
This tool aggregates information from dozens of sources, providing cited research that forms the foundation of competitive battlecards. The automation eliminates weeks of manual research while maintaining source credibility.
Phase 3: Professional Battlecard Creation with Gamma
Gamma converts raw research into polished, branded battlecards ready for sales team distribution. Ken notes: "Where I think Gamma is standing out right now is documents, eBooks, white papers, internal training docs that you just want to look more polished. For this example, I'm going to say keep the text because we've already done this rich analysis and we vetted it to be quality."
The final output includes formatted battlecards with proper branding, clear structure, and actionable insights that sales teams can immediately use in prospect conversations.
Key Insights: Why This Workflow Works
The 80% Rule: AI Delivers Most of What You Need
Both hosts emphasize that AI consistently delivers 80-85% of what expert analysts provide. Ken states: "It's about 80, 85% there. And I was like, that's pretty good, right? If you don't have that knowledge or your BDRs don't have that knowledge, 85% is a lot more than they could have been able to uncover."
This percentage represents a significant improvement over the zero competitive intelligence many sales teams currently have, making the workflow immediately valuable.
Speed Enables Continuous Intelligence
Traditional competitive analysis happens quarterly at best. The 30-minute workflow enables continuous monitoring and rapid response to market changes. As Erin explains: "In less than 30 minutes, we were able to get a v1 of a completed competitive analysis battlecard out to our sellers."
Quality Comes from Prompt Engineering
The workflow's effectiveness depends on well-crafted prompts and clear instructions. Ken emphasizes: "The effort and time you put into something is probably going to represent the quality you get out."
Human Expertise Remains Essential
While AI handles research and formatting, human expertise provides the final 20% of value through industry context, strategic positioning, and objection handling refinement.
Implementation Strategy: Getting Started
Step 1: Set Up Your Custom GPT Focus Group
Begin by creating a custom GPT configured for your specific industry and buyer personas. Include:
Your company description and value proposition
Target buyer personas and pain points
Key competitors and market positioning
Specific questions about messaging and differentiation
Step 2: Configure Deep Research Parameters
Set up Deep Research GPT to focus on your competitive landscape:
Identify 5-10 primary competitors for regular monitoring
Create templates for pricing, positioning, and feature analysis
Establish source credibility criteria
Define research frequency and update triggers
Step 3: Create Gamma Templates
Develop standardized templates for different types of competitive intelligence:
Battlecard templates with consistent formatting
Competitive positioning slides
Feature comparison charts
Objection handling guides
Advanced Applications: Beyond Basic Battlecards
Automated Workflow Integration
Ken and Erin discuss connecting these tools with automation platforms: "It is crazy how much progress has been made in the past couple months around integrating workflows that actually resemble a go-to-market process. And I think the crazy thing is you and I, we're not engineers, and that would've taken a lot of engineering effort in the past to create the web hooks that all fit together."
Continuous Market Monitoring
The workflow can be configured for ongoing market intelligence, automatically updating battlecards when competitors change pricing, launch features, or shift positioning.
Team Onboarding Acceleration
New hires can use the workflow to rapidly understand competitive landscape, reducing onboarding time from months to weeks.
Key Takeaways: Making AI Work for Competitive Intelligence
Start with Use Cases, Not Tools
Focus on solving specific competitive intelligence challenges rather than implementing AI for its own sake. The workflow succeeds because it addresses real sales team needs.
Embrace the 80% Solution
Perfect competitive intelligence is the enemy of actionable intelligence. The 80% accuracy from AI represents a massive improvement over no intelligence at all.
Human Expertise Amplifies AI
The most effective approach combines AI efficiency with human strategic thinking. AI handles research and formatting; humans provide context and refinement.
Quality Depends on Input
Effective prompts and clear instructions determine output quality. Invest time in developing templates and prompt libraries for consistent results.
Speed Enables Agility
Reducing competitive intelligence from weeks to minutes enables rapid response to market changes and continuous improvement of sales enablement materials.
The Future of Competitive Intelligence
Ken and Erin's workflow represents a fundamental shift in how marketing teams approach competitive intelligence. Instead of quarterly research projects, teams can now maintain continuous competitive monitoring with minimal resource investment.
This approach democratizes competitive intelligence, making sophisticated market analysis accessible to teams without dedicated research resources or enterprise-level budgets.
As Erin notes: "AI is more as a thought partner rather than just, oh, I'm going to ask it this question so I can use whatever the output is, but having kind of an ongoing conversation and collaboration."
Next Steps: Implementing Your AI Workflow
To implement this workflow in your organization:
Start with one key competitor and create a focused battlecard
Test the workflow with your sales team and gather feedback
Refine prompts and templates based on results
Gradually expand to cover your full competitive landscape
Consider automation for regular updates and monitoring
The combination of ChatGPT custom GPTs, Deep Research, and Gamma provides a powerful foundation for modern competitive intelligence. By following Ken and Erin's proven workflow, marketing teams can deliver the competitive insights their sales teams need—in minutes instead of weeks.
Ready to transform your competitive intelligence process? Start with the FutureCraft podcast for more AI-powered go-to-market strategies, and begin experimenting with these three tools to see how they can accelerate your team's competitive positioning.
This analysis is based on the FutureCraft Go-to-Market podcast Season 2, Episode 1, featuring co-hosts Ken Roden and Erin Mills. The conversation has been edited for clarity and readability while preserving all key insights and actionable advice.
For more AI-powered go-to-market strategies and practical frameworks, visit FutureCraft AI Media and subscribe to the podcast for the latest insights from industry leaders and practitioners.
