Purpose: Identify and analyse competitor features to inspire new ideas, prioritise differentiators, and improve UX strategy.
Design Thinking Phase: Ideate
Time: 45â60 min session + 1â2 hours analysis
Difficulty: ââ
When to use:When exploring feature opportunities for a new product or MVPWhen repositioning an existing product in a saturated marketWhen preparing for stakeholder workshops or roadmap planning
What it is
Competitor Feature Analysis is a UX method used to evaluate the features, user flows, and UI patterns of competing products. Rather than copying functionality, the goal is to uncover usability conventions, gaps in competitor offerings, and ideas worth adapting â then translate those insights into novel, actionable design directions.
đş Video by NNgroup. Embedded for educational reference.
Why it matters
Too often, product teams either blindly clone competitor features or ignore them altogether. Competitor analysis done right enhances creativity while grounding it in market reality. It gives UX teams a shared vocabulary of what's standard, what's broken, and where standout opportunities exist. Most importantly, it boosts confidence during product ideation by showing whatâs working â and whatâs not â for real users out there.
When to use
- During early product strategy or MVP planning
- When exploring value propositions in discovery research
- Before conducting usability testing to benchmark existing flows
Benefits
- Rich Insights: Helps uncover user needs that arenât visible in metrics.
- Flexibility: Works across various project types and timelines.
- User Empathy: Deepens understanding of behaviours and motivations.
How to use it
Run a structured feature analysis workshop with your product and design team:
- Identify direct, indirect, and aspirational competitors â you want breadth, not just the obvious.
- Assign each team member one product to explore deeply. Focus on user journeys rather than landing page fluff.
- Capture screenshots, flows, and interactions â ideally across at least 2â3 core tasks.
- Log features in a shared matrix: Whatâs standard, unique, or poorly executed?
- Cluster findings under themes (e.g. onboarding, navigation, user feedback loops).
- Discuss: Where are the usability gaps? What patterns are trending? What could we do differently?
- Translate standout features into problem-centric âhow might weâ statements.
Example Output
Theme: Onboarding Experience
- Competitor A: Skippable intro, biometric ID setup, shows tips after login
- Competitor B: Mandatory tutorial, too long; no skip option
- Competitor C: Uses AI to customise onboarding suggestions based on user type
Insights: Users expect personalisation but value control. Over-educating can be frustrating.
Opportunity Statement: How might we dynamically adapt onboarding flow based on user signals without delaying access to the core experience?
Common Pitfalls
- Conflating inspiration with imitation â copying competitors leads to parity, not innovation.
- Focusing on surface-level UI instead of actual user flows and pain points.
- Failing to synthesise findings into actionable opportunity areas.
10 Design-Ready AI Prompts for Competitor Feature Analysis â UX/UI Edition
How These Prompts Work (C.S.I.R. Framework)
Each of the templates below follows the C.S.I.R. method â a proven structure for writing clear, effective prompts that get better results from ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or any other LLM.
C.S.I.R. stands for:
- Context: Who you are and the UX situation you're working in
- Specific Info: Key design inputs, tasks, or constraints the AI should consider
- Intent: What you want the AI to help you achieve
- Response Format: The structure or format you want the AI to return (e.g. checklist, table, journey map)
Level up your career with smarter AI prompts.Get templates used by UX leaders â no guesswork, just results.Design faster, research smarter, and ship with confidence.First oneâs free. Unlock all 10 by becoming a member.
Prompt Template 1: âGenerate a Competitor Feature Comparison Table:â
Generate a Competitor Feature Comparison Table:
Context: You are a Senior UX Designer preparing for a strategy workshop on [user onboarding flows] across top apps in [finance or similar regulated industries].
Specific Info: Youâve analysed [3â5 products] and captured screenshots of core journeys including sign-up, profile setup, and first action.
Intent: Help the product team visualise trends, gaps, and uniqueness using a matrix.
Response Format: Deliver a table comparing each productâs onboarding based on: steps required, personalisation level, ability to skip, and feedback nudges.
Ask clarifying questions if the app category or core actions are unclear.
Then, propose 2 unexpected feature patterns worth deeper exploration.
Prompt Template 2: âIdentify UX Gaps in a Common Feature Set:â
Identify UX Gaps in a Common Feature Set:
Context: Youâre a UX Lead reviewing feature parity and innovation scope for [weather apps] targeting [outdoor enthusiasts].
Specific Info: Youâve reviewed [5 competitor products] and listed their alert and notification feature sets.
Intent: Reveal gaps or opportunities where user expectations are poorly met or ignored.
Response Format: List 5 specific UX gaps, each with context, why it matters, and a possible direction to explore.
If audience behaviour is missing, ask for that first.
Suggest a âHow might weâ question for the top-rated gap.
Prompt Template 3: âCluster Competing Features by Pattern or Theme:â
Cluster Competing Features by Pattern or Theme:
Context: Youâre a Product Designer mapping advanced search functionality in [B2B project management tools].
Specific Info: Youâve logged features including filters, saved views, real-time updates, and contextual search.
Intent: Identify usability patterns and friction themes.
Response Format: Create 3â4 feature clusters with a title, pattern description, example apps, and potential innovation angle.
Ask for clarification if product complexity is unclear.
Suggest a visual model or metaphor to simplify these patterns for stakeholders.
Prompt Template 4: âWrite Pro-Con Lists for Top Features from Competitor Apps:â
Write Pro-Con Lists for Top Features from Competitor Apps:
Context: You are evaluating sticky features in [language learning apps] aimed at [daily-use engagement].
Specific Info: Youâve shortlisted features like gamification, lesson lock/unlock, streak tracking.
Intent: Help your team decide which features to adopt, reject, or rethink.
Response Format: Provide a separate pros/cons list for each feature with UX rationale.
Ask follow-up questions on user types or engagement goals.
Propose one feature mash-up concept based on pros from two different features.
Prompt Template 5: âTranslate Feature Insights into Design Opportunities:â
Translate Feature Insights into Design Opportunities:
Context: Youâre synthesising a competitor audit of [self-service checkout flows] across [online grocery apps].
Specific Info: Youâve mapped 10 key UX moments where competitors differ.
Intent: Turn analysis into actionable HMW-style opportunity statements.
Response Format: List 5 âHow might weâŚâ statements inspired by gaps or friction insights.
Clarify if user motivations or pain points are not yet defined.
Offer 2 design exploration prompts that push beyond direct imitation.
Prompt Template 6: âBenchmark Task Flows from Competing Products:â
Benchmark Task Flows from Competing Products:
Context: Youâre mapping how users complete a booking in [hotel and accommodation apps].
Specific Info: You want to benchmark time to task completion, decision points, and friction spots.
Intent: Compare flows across 4 apps to inspire experience improvements.
Response Format: Provide a table with app name, steps taken, friction points identified, and flow length estimate.
Ask if target personas need to be differentiated by behaviour type.
Then, name 1 friction point worth immediate design attention.
Prompt Template 7: âExtract Emotional or Motivational Hooks from Competitor UIs:â
Extract Emotional or Motivational Hooks from Competitor UIs:
Context: Youâre analysing persuasive UX in [fitness tracking or wellbeing apps].
Specific Info: Youâve observed onboarding, goal-setting, and reward mechanisms.
Intent: Understand how these apps create commitment or delight.
Response Format: Describe 5 emotional cues or UI elements and what behaviours they try to shape.
Prompt for personas if intentions differ between user groups.
Suggest a new hook we could prototype based on these insights.
Prompt Template 8: âScore Competing Features Using a UX Heuristic Lens:â
Score Competing Features Using a UX Heuristic Lens:
Context: Youâre conducting a comparative audit of [job posting or gig apps] aimed at [freelancers].
Specific Info: You want to assess the top features with a heuristic lens (e.g. error prevention, control, feedback).
Intent: Create a visual performance scorecard to inform product backlog priorities.
Response Format: Use a table with heuristics as columns, features as rows, scores (1â5), and insights per item.
Ask if feature maturity or audience segment should drive scoring.
Then, highlight one overcomplicated feature and offer a simplification idea.
Prompt Template 9: âGenerate UX Doâs and Donâts from Competitor Mistakes:â
Generate UX Doâs and Donâts from Competitor Mistakes:
Context: Youâre debriefing a design sprint team that just reviewed 5 financial dashboards from market leaders.
Specific Info: Feedback noted frustration around visual hierarchy, onboarding opacity, and feature discoverability.
Intent: Document common design dos and donâts to set guidance guardrails.
Response Format: Provide 5 âDonâtâŚâ points (mistakes) and 5 âDoâŚâ alternatives with UX justification.
Query if specific personas or screen types need emphasis.
Offer one example microcopy fix based on these guidelines.
Prompt Template 10: âModel User Personas Based on Competitor Review Insights:â
Model User Personas Based on Competitor Review Insights:
Context: Youâve analysed hundreds of App Store reviews from [mental health apps] targeting [Gen Z users].
Specific Info: Youâre seeing patterns in praise and frustration around journaling tools, community features, and privacy.
Intent: Synthesise 3 user personas to inform feature prioritisation.
Response Format: For each persona, provide name, key needs, frustrations, success definition, and feature interests.
Ask for country/region if behaviour is culturally influenced.
Suggest one storytelling hook per persona for alignment with marketing.
Recommended Tools
- UXPressia â for mapping and analysing competitor journeys visually
- Miro â helpful for team workshops and clustering UX themes
- Akiflow or Notion + Loom â smart note-taking and screen recording of competitor walkthroughs
- Screely â for beautifying UI screenshot documentation