Automating competitive intelligence for expert networks: A case in sales enablement and strategy

In 2025, expert networks and financial research firms are under pressure to reinvent themselves. Clients now demand real-time, AI-curated insights; regulatory scrutiny on data sourcing is intensifying; and new, automation-first competitors are redefining what “intelligence delivery” means.

A leading global expert network firm serving institutional investors, consultants, and corporate research teams faced this exact challenge. Manual, ad hoc intelligence processes and disjointed reporting were slowing decision-making in sales, product, and strategy functions.

Contify’s GenAI-powered Market & Competitive Intelligence (M&CI) platform helped the firm centralize, automate, and scale its intelligence engine. By transforming fragmented data collection into signal-first insights, the organization enabled faster, more intelligent, and compliant decision-making.

Key Results:

• 70% faster intelligence delivery across Strategy, M&CI, and Product teams
  
• Improved deal preparation and competitive win rate
  
• Enhanced cross-functional collaboration between Product, Marketing, and Sales Enablement
  

“In an environment where speed and accuracy define success, Contify helped us move from manual updates to actionable foresight.”

The client is a global leader in expert network and financial research services, connecting institutional investors, consulting firms, and corporates with subject matter experts worldwide.

Operating in a highly competitive, insight-driven market, the firm faced rising expectations from clients who now wanted always-on, AI-curved intelligence rather than periodic reports.

By 2025, the sector’s landscape had shifted dramatically:

• Data fragmentation from multiple feeds limited consistency.
  
• AI native competitors offered faster, cheaper research turnaround.
  
• Compliance demands (like the EU’s DORA and stricter SEC oversight) made manual curation risky.
  
• Talent challenges forced teams to do more with fewer analysts.

Against this backdrop, the firm recognized the need for a scalable, compliant, and automated M&CI solution.

The company’s intelligence workflow was manual, siloed, and dependent on individual effort. Analysts tracked competitors through web searches, scattered emails, and spreadsheets, reacting to developments instead of anticipating them.

Pain Points:

• Lagging decision cycles: Critical market shifts surfaced weeks late.
  
• Inconsistent reporting: Leadership updates varied in quality and format.
  
• Limited visibility: Sales teams lacked unified competitor views during client pitches.
  
• Underperforming legacy tools: Prior CI platforms generated noise without context.
  

By early 2025, these inefficiencies had become business risks. With clients expecting predictive intelligence, not just historical reporting, the organization needed a new foundation for real-time strategic awareness.

Contify deployed a customized, GenAI-powered M&CI platform built around the firm’s use case: transforming fragmented intelligence into continuous, contextual insights across Strategy, Product, and M&CI teams.

1. AI-Powered Intelligence Engine

Contify’s AI engine aggregated millions of data points from competitor websites, analyst reports, job boards, funding updates, and regulatory filings. NLP-driven filters ensured only relevant, verified insights surfaced.

For Strategy leaders: Provided visibility into competitors’ account expansions and new vertical plays.
For Product teams: Tracked feature releases, pricing shifts, and go-to-market messaging.
For M&CI professionals: Centralize the entire competitive landscape in one real-time dashboard.

2. Ask Athena – AI Query Assistant

Teams could now query Contify’s intelligence hub conversationally:

• “Which competitor launched a new Private Equity solution this quarter?”
• “Compare positioning between the top 3 firms in asset management intelligence.”

Outcome: Reduced time to insight from days to minutes, enabling rapid synthesis for battlecards, reports, and strategic decks.

3. Custom Dashboards & Alerts

Dashboards were designed to track investment segments, competitor content strategies, and partnership ecosystems.
Automated Slack and email alerts notified teams about:

• Price changes or new service launches
  
• Leadership or funding announcements
  
• Shifts in digital marketing or client messaging
  

For Marketing & PMM: Aligned campaign narratives to real-time market signals.

4. Battlecards & Sales Enablement

Contify auto-generated battlecards featuring competitor SWOTs, differentiators, and objection handlers. Distributed through Slack and internal portals, they armed Sales and Strategy teams with instant, validated intelligence.

Result: Improved sales win rate and increased confidence in client conversations.

5. Integration & Collaboration

Contify integrates seamlessly with internal collaboration tools (Slack, Teams, and CRM systems).

For Strategy & M&CI: Created measurable visibility into how intelligence influenced pipeline and win/loss metrics.
For Product & PMM: Ensured every launch was backed by contextual, up-to-date competitor analysis.

Quantitative Results:

• 70% faster intelligence delivery across business units
  
• 100% adoption by Strategy, M&CI, and Product teams
  
• 3x faster sales enablement and GTM readiness
  

Qualitative Transformation:

• Strategy and M&CI leaders gained predictive foresight into competitor activity.
  
• Product managers aligned roadmaps with market signals, not assumptions.
  
• Marketing and PMM improved messaging precision using continuous intelligence.
  

By mid-2025, intelligence had evolved from a reporting function to a shared strategic asset powering faster, evidence-based decisions across the organization.

“With Contify, intelligence became an engine, not an afterthought.”

As 2025 redefines the competitive intelligence landscape, firms that rely on manual processes are being outpaced by those that automate.

This expert network firm’s transformation showcases how AI-led intelligence platforms enable real-time decision making, sharper differentiation, and faster go-to-market alignment.

Discover how Contify helps Strategy, M&CI, and Product teams in IT, Research, and Services industries build always-on intelligence systems for 2025 and beyond. Book your personalized demo.