You've spent weeks building your course. You know your stuff. You're ready to launch.
Then you Google your topic and find 47 other courses teaching the same thing.
Your stomach drops. You start questioning everything. Maybe you should add more modules. Maybe you should lower your price. Maybe you should just scrap it and start over with a "less saturated" topic.
Here's the truth nobody tells you: a crowded market isn't a death sentence. It's validation.
The problem isn't that competitors exist. The problem is that you don't know how you're different from them. And if you don't know, your potential students definitely won't.
That's where AI becomes your secret weapon.
Why Competitor Analysis Actually Matters
Most course creators skip competitor research. They're either too intimidated ("I don't want to see how good everyone else is") or too confident ("My course is unique enough").
Both mindsets cost you sales.
Strategic competitor analysis tells you:
- What your market already expects (so you can meet baseline standards)
- Where competitors are falling short (so you can fill gaps)
- Who's being ignored (so you can serve underserved audiences)
- What pricing the market supports (so you don't leave money on the table)
- How competitors position themselves (so you can position differently)
The good news? AI can do 80% of this work in a fraction of the time it would take manually. Let's break down exactly how.
What to Analyze (The Competitor Intelligence Framework)
Before you start feeding prompts to AI, you need to know what you're looking for. Here's the framework:
1. Positioning & Messaging
- What transformation do they promise?
- Who do they explicitly target?
- What language and tone do they use?
- What's their unique mechanism or method?
2. Course Content & Structure
- How many modules/lessons?
- What topics do they cover?
- What format (video, text, live, cohort)?
- What bonuses do they include?
3. Pricing & Offers
- What's the price point?
- Do they offer payment plans?
- What guarantee do they provide?
- Any upsells or downsells?
4. Social Proof & Reviews
- What do students praise?
- What do students complain about?
- What results do students mention?
- What type of student succeeds?
5. Content & Visibility
- What content do they publish (blog, YouTube, podcast)?
- What topics get the most engagement?
- What keywords are they targeting?
- Where are the content gaps?
Now let's put AI to work on each of these.
Using AI to Summarize Competitor Sales Pages
Sales pages are goldmines of positioning data. But reading 10 of them is exhausting. AI can extract the insights in minutes.
Step 1: Copy the full text from a competitor's sales page.
Step 2: Use this prompt:
Analyze this sales page and extract:
1. TARGET AUDIENCE: Who is this course explicitly for? Include demographics, experience level, and psychographics mentioned.
2. PAIN POINTS: What problems, frustrations, or fears does this page address?
3. DESIRED OUTCOME: What transformation or result is promised?
4. UNIQUE MECHANISM: What's their specific method, framework, or approach that differentiates them?
5. OBJECTION HANDLING: What concerns or hesitations do they address?
6. SOCIAL PROOF STRATEGY: How do they use testimonials, case studies, or credentials?
7. CALL TO ACTION: What's the primary offer and any urgency tactics used?
8. TONE & VOICE: How would you describe their writing style in 3 words?
Sales page content:
[PASTE SALES PAGE TEXT]
Run this on 5-10 competitors and you'll have a complete market map showing how everyone else positions themselves—and where the white space exists.
Analyzing Competitor Reviews for Gaps
Reviews reveal what sales pages hide. Students tell the truth about what worked, what didn't, and what they wished existed.
For courses on marketplaces (Udemy, Skillshare, Coursera):
Copy 20-30 reviews (mix of positive, neutral, and negative) and use this prompt:
Analyze these student reviews and identify:
1. PRAISE PATTERNS: What do students consistently love? What exceeds expectations?
2. COMPLAINT PATTERNS: What do students consistently criticize? What falls short of expectations?
3. MISSING ELEMENTS: What do students say they wished was included?
4. UNEXPECTED VALUE: What benefits surprised students that weren't in the sales pitch?
5. STUDENT TYPES: Based on positive reviews, what type of student thrives in this course?
6. STUDENT STRUGGLES: Based on negative reviews, what type of student struggles?
7. TRANSFORMATION EVIDENCE: What specific results or outcomes do students mention achieving?
8. OPPORTUNITY GAPS: Based on these reviews, what could a competitor course do better?
Reviews:
[PASTE REVIEWS]
Pro tip: The "missing elements" and "opportunity gaps" sections are pure gold. These are literally students telling you what to build.
Identifying Underserved Audiences
Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn't doing something better—it's serving someone different.
Use this prompt to find underserved segments:
I'm analyzing the [YOUR NICHE] course market. Based on my research, most courses target [DESCRIBE TYPICAL TARGET AUDIENCE].
Brainstorm 10 underserved audience segments who might need [TOPIC] education but aren't being explicitly targeted by existing courses. For each segment:
1. Describe who they are
2. Explain their unique needs or constraints
3. Identify why current courses might not serve them well
4. Suggest how a course could be adapted for them
Consider variations in:
- Industry/profession
- Experience level
- Learning style
- Time availability
- Budget constraints
- Cultural/regional factors
- Age/life stage
- Goals (career vs. hobby vs. side hustle)
Example output might reveal: Most photography courses target aspiring professionals, but there's an underserved market of real estate agents who just need "good enough" photos for listings. Different audience, different positioning, way less competition.
Finding Your Unique Positioning with AI
Now comes the synthesis. You've gathered competitor data—time to find your angle.
Use this positioning prompt:
I'm creating a course about [YOUR TOPIC]. Here's what I know about my competitors:
COMPETITOR POSITIONING SUMMARY:
[Paste your competitor analysis summaries]
MY UNIQUE ASSETS:
- My background: [Your credentials, experience, story]
- My teaching style: [How you prefer to teach]
- My perspective: [What you believe that others might disagree with]
- My audience connection: [Who naturally gravitates to you]
Based on this analysis, suggest 5 unique positioning angles I could take that would differentiate me from existing competitors. For each:
1. The positioning statement (one sentence)
2. Why this angle is credible for me
3. Who would be most attracted to this positioning
4. What competitors this would pull students away from
5. Potential risks or limitations of this angle
The best positioning often comes from your constraints. Maybe you're not the most credentialed expert—but you remember what it was like to be a beginner. Maybe you can't offer live coaching—but you've built systems that make self-paced learning actually work.
Competitive Content Gap Analysis
Your competitors' content strategy reveals their SEO and lead generation approach. More importantly, it reveals what they're NOT covering.
For blog/YouTube content analysis:
I've compiled the content topics from my top 5 competitors in [YOUR NICHE]:
[List competitor content titles/topics]
Analyze this content landscape and identify:
1. SATURATED TOPICS: What topics are covered by almost everyone?
2. CONTENT GAPS: What topics are rarely or never covered that my audience would need?
3. ANGLE GAPS: What topics are covered but from limited perspectives?
4. FORMAT GAPS: What content formats are underutilized?
5. DEPTH GAPS: What topics get surface treatment but deserve deep dives?
6. TREND GAPS: What emerging topics in [YOUR NICHE] aren't being addressed yet?
Based on these gaps, suggest 10 content ideas that would help me stand out while attracting potential course students.
This gives you a content roadmap that complements your course positioning instead of competing with the same keywords everyone else targets.
Pricing Intelligence with AI
Pricing is part positioning, part math. AI can help with both.
For market pricing analysis:
Here's pricing data from courses in [YOUR NICHE]:
[List competitors with prices, what's included, and any bonuses]
Analyze this pricing landscape and help me determine:
1. PRICE RANGES: What's the low, mid, and high-ticket range for this market?
2. PRICE-VALUE PATTERNS: What justifies higher prices? What's included at each tier?
3. PRICING MODELS: What payment structures are used (one-time, payment plans, subscriptions)?
4. GUARANTEE PATTERNS: What refund policies are standard?
5. ANCHOR PRICING: How do competitors use bonuses or comparisons to justify price?
6. POSITIONING GAPS: Is there a price point that's underserved?
Based on my course offering [DESCRIBE YOUR COURSE], what pricing strategy would you recommend and why?
Remember: Price is a positioning statement. Charging $47 says something different than charging $997, even if the content is identical.
Tools and Workflows for Ongoing Analysis
Competitor analysis isn't a one-time task. Markets evolve. Here's a sustainable workflow:
Monthly (30 minutes):
- Check 2-3 competitor sales pages for messaging changes
- Read 10 new reviews of competitor courses
- Note any new competitors entering your space
Quarterly (2 hours):
- Full refresh of pricing analysis
- Content gap analysis update
- Review your positioning—is it still differentiated?
Tools that help:
- Notion or Airtable: Store competitor profiles and track changes
- Google Alerts: Monitor competitor brand mentions
- SimilarWeb or SEMrush: Track competitor traffic and keywords
- AI chat tools: For on-demand analysis of new data
Build a simple competitor database with columns for: Name, URL, Price, Target Audience, Unique Angle, Last Updated. This becomes your market intelligence hub.
Turning Insights into Action
Data without action is just trivia. Here's how to operationalize your competitor research:
For your sales page:
- Address gaps competitors miss
- Use language that resonates with underserved audiences
- Position against (not just alongside) alternatives
For your course content:
- Include what reviewers wish competitors had
- Structure differently if everyone uses the same format
- Add the support elements students complain about missing
For your marketing:
- Create content in the gaps
- Target keywords competitors ignore
- Build authority in your unique angle
For your pricing:
- Price to match your positioning
- Structure offers differently than the default
- Use guarantees that address real objections
Ethical Considerations
A word on doing this right:
DO:
- Learn from publicly available information
- Let analysis inform (not dictate) your decisions
- Use insights to serve students better
- Create genuinely differentiated offerings
DON'T:
- Copy competitor content or structure
- Disparage competitors publicly
- Pretend to be a customer to access private information
- Obsess over competitors instead of serving your students
Competitor awareness should be 10% of your strategy. The other 90% is creating genuine value for your specific audience.
Your Action Steps
Ready to put this into practice? Here's your roadmap:
This week:
- Identify 5-10 direct competitors
- Run the sales page analysis prompt on each
- Compile review analysis for courses with public reviews
Next week: 4. Use the positioning prompt to find your unique angle 5. Run content gap analysis on competitor blogs/channels 6. Complete pricing analysis
Week three: 7. Refine your course positioning based on insights 8. Update your sales page to address gaps 9. Plan 3 months of content targeting underserved topics
Ongoing: 10. Set up your competitor monitoring workflow 11. Review and update monthly
The creators who win aren't the ones with no competition. They're the ones who know their competition so well they can position themselves as the obvious alternative.
You have the tools. You have the prompts. Now go find your angle.
Next Step
Ready to turn your positioning into a sales page that converts? Read our guide on crafting high-converting sales pages to translate your unique angle into copy that sells.