101 competitive intelligence statistics for 2026: the definitive list
Competitive pressure and sales readiness
1. 55% of companies said competitive opportunities increased in 2025
More than half said the share of opportunities involving competitors had risen from the previous year. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
2. 68% of sales opportunities were competitive
Respondents estimated that competitors appeared in 68% of sales opportunities on average. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
3. Sales teams rated their competitive readiness only 3.8 out of 10
The low score showed a substantial gap between competitive exposure and seller preparedness. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
4. The average enterprise may lose $2 million to $10 million a year in winnable competitive deals
Crayon estimated the annual loss using reported avoidable losses and typical B2B software deal values. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
5. 57.5% of teams said more of their deals were competitive in 2026
Only 16% said competitive pressure had eased. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
6. Seven in ten teams said at least half their pipeline was competitive
Competitive enablement affected a large share of sales opportunities rather than an occasional subset. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
7. Average seller readiness improved to 6.3 out of 10 in 2026
The score improved from 3.8 in the previous report but still indicated a material readiness gap. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
8. 49.6% of teams increased their competitive win rate
Nearly half reported a higher win rate against competitors during the previous 12 months. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
9. Only 6.3% of teams saw their competitive win rate fall
Most reported movement in competitive win rates was positive or stable. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
Program structure and investment
10. 50% of companies tracked ten competitors or fewer in 2025
Half monitored between one and ten competitors regularly. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
11. 34% of companies tracked between 11 and 30 competitors
Only 16% tracked more than 30 competitors. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
12. Nearly 80% of teams tracked 30 competitors or fewer in 2026
The concentration on a limited competitive set remained evident in the following year's benchmark. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
13. Marketing owned competitive intelligence at 47% of companies in 2025 and 42% in 2026
Marketing remained the most common organizational home, although its share fell by five percentage points. Crayon, 2025 and 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
14. 20% of competitive intelligence programs sat within strategy or an executive function in 2025
Product owned 17% and sales owned 16%. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
15. 49% of companies had annual competitive intelligence budgets above $25,000
The proportion rose from 36% in 2024. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
16. 14% of companies had no competitive intelligence budget
The proportion fell from 24% in 2024. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
17. Dedicated competitive intelligence platform adoption rose from 38% to 54% in one year
Adoption reached 54% in 2025 and roughly two-thirds in 2026. Crayon, 2025 and 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
Sources, systems and deliverables
18. 44% of teams lacked clear CRM visibility into competitors
They either did not enter competitor information into the CRM or did not know whether it was captured. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
19. Only 15% required competitor information at an early deal stage
Another 9% required it late, 20% only after closure, 33% had no requirement and 23% did not know. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
20. 54% of teams used internal intelligence as a leading source in 2026
Internal knowledge, documents and call recordings overtook competitor websites. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
21. 48% of teams relied on competitor websites
Competitor websites remained the second most-used source category in 2026. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
22. 36% used win-loss insight from buyers and sellers
Buyer and seller evidence ranked third among source categories in 2026. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
23. 46% used a call-recording or conversational-intelligence tool for compete work
Usage rose substantially from the 25% recorded for call recordings in the 2025 survey. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
24. Only about 7% used call recordings to update competitor data in the CRM in 2025
Twenty-five percent used call recordings, but only 29% of that group used them to update CRM competitor data. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
25. 63% of teams produced competitor profiles
Battlecards followed at 58% and competitor comparisons at 57%. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
26. 60% used sales calls, CRM notes or win-loss interviews as intelligence sources
Social media, webinars and events were used by 56%, while 38% used dedicated competitive intelligence software. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
27. 53% said competitive intelligence involved too much manual research
Another 49% struggled to keep intelligence current, 38% said information was scattered across tools, and 29% found it hard to prove impact. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
Sales enablement and intelligence delivery
28. 72% rated sales as a very important competitive intelligence audience
Executive leadership followed at 51%, marketing at 49%, product management at 44% and customer success at 27%. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
29. 85% of competitive intelligence programs enabled sales
Sales enablement was widespread despite weaker adoption of senior sales sponsorship. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
30. 82% of Aqute survey respondents used competitive intelligence for sales enablement
Competitor tracking followed at 68%, pricing and packaging research at 60%, and positioning and messaging at 53%. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
31. 38% said sales teams did not use their competitive intelligence content
Poor sales adoption was as common as information being scattered across tools. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
32. Only 48% had an executive sponsor in sales in 2025
Fewer than half had senior sales sponsorship despite 85% supporting sales. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
33. Sales executive sponsorship was associated with 76% higher competitive-sales effectiveness
This was an association in Crayon's benchmark data rather than proof of causation. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
34. 47% said quality of analysis mattered most when enabling sales
Presentation accounted for 28% and speed of insight for 25%. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
35. Daily competitive intelligence delivery was associated with 84% higher sales effectiveness
Teams sharing CI every day reported substantially stronger competitive-sales effectiveness. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
36. Daily or weekly intelligence sharing made revenue impact 75% more likely
Teams sharing at least weekly were more likely to report positive revenue impact than less-frequent sharers. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
37. Only 5% shared competitive intelligence with sales daily
Twenty-seven percent shared weekly, 31% monthly, 10% quarterly and 27% ad hoc. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
38. Only 26% received competitive intelligence from sales frequently
Another 44% received it sometimes, while 24% rarely did and 6% never did. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
39. 37% sought feedback from sales leadership only on an ad hoc basis
Only 3% sought feedback daily and 22% weekly. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
40. 45% of teams regularly consulted on deals reported positive revenue impact
Only 8% were consulted daily, while 32% received deal requests ad hoc. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
41. Weekly intelligence sharing was linked to a 79% revenue-impact rate in 2026
Teams sharing at least weekly reported impact at 79%, versus 41% among monthly-or-slower teams. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
AI in competitive intelligence
42. AI adoption in competitive intelligence increased 76% year on year
Usage rose from 25% in 2024 to 44% in 2025, a 76% relative increase. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
43. 60% of competitive intelligence professionals used AI daily in 2025
A further 28% used it weekly, meaning 88% of AI users applied it at least weekly. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
44. 76% used AI to summarize competitive content
Summarization was the most common AI use case in Crayon's 2025 survey. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
45. 64% used AI to analyze competitor data
Usage was close to double the 34% recorded for AI-powered analysis in the previous year. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
46. 59% used AI to collect competitive intelligence
A further 54% used AI to generate text for deliverables such as battlecards and newsletters. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
47. 41% used AI to summarize win-loss interviews
More than four in ten used AI to accelerate thematic review of interview material. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
48. 55% of sellers had access to an AI interface for competitive questions
The remaining 45% lacked this capability. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
49. Seller access to a competitive AI interface was associated with 87% higher sales effectiveness
Crayon reported this as an association within its survey data. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
50. 80% of teams used AI to create competitive content in 2026
Adoption rose from 61% in 2025 and 25% in 2024. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
51. Half of teams were running or piloting sales-facing AI agents
Another 14% planned to introduce them within a year. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
52. Teams using AI agents reported revenue impact at twice the rate of non-users
Revenue impact was reported by 82% of agent users, versus 42% of non-users. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
53. 97% of CI teams were building or planning AI workflows
Klue surveyed more than 250 competitive intelligence and product marketing professionals. Klue, AI in Competitive Intelligence Report 2026.
54. 76% had produced an AI output they could not stand behind
Fast adoption had not removed confidence and quality concerns. Klue, AI in Competitive Intelligence Report 2026.
55. 79% did not trust AI output to go directly to sellers
Nearly eight in ten required human review before seller-facing use. Klue, AI in Competitive Intelligence Report 2026.
56. 87% relied on static data sources to power competitive AI
Most teams were still grounding workflows in static rather than continuously refreshed material. Klue, AI in Competitive Intelligence Report 2026.
57. A structured intelligence layer made teams 2.5 times more likely to trust seller-facing AI
Trust was associated with source structure and governance rather than model choice alone. Klue, AI in Competitive Intelligence Report 2026.
58. 90% used general LLMs for competitive intelligence
AI features embedded in other tools were used by 38%, while 36% used AI features within dedicated CI software. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
59. 71% used AI for competitor research
Drafting content followed at 66%, summarizing documents, calls or transcripts at 56%, and analyzing large information volumes at 49%. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
60. 71% used AI to create or help create battlecards
Executive summaries followed at 66%, competitor profiles at 60%, comparison tables and PowerPoint decks at 49% each, and sales talk tracks at 44%. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
61. 53% said faster research was a benefit of using AI for CI
Faster content creation was cited by 41%, better-quality output by 32%, lower costs by 19%, and better pattern recognition by 18%. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
62. 92% reviewed AI-generated competitive intelligence before using it
Sixty percent trusted the output but spot-checked it, while 32% verified everything. Only 8% used AI output as-is. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
63. 55% were concerned about inaccurate AI output
Missing source citations concerned 45%, difficulty connecting AI to internal data concerned 37%, and generic output concerned 36%. Aqute, Q2 2026 B2B SaaS survey.
Competitive intelligence measurement and revenue impact
64. 44% of competitive intelligence teams had defined KPIs in 2025
KPI adoption rose from 30% in 2022. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
65. Teams with competitive intelligence KPIs reported 74% higher sales effectiveness
The result was an association in Crayon's benchmark data. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
66. 55% measured competitive-content usage
Competitive win rate was measured by 51% and revenue from competitive deals by 38%. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
67. 45% said competitive intelligence had made a positive revenue impact
A further 37% did not know whether CI had affected revenue. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
68. 60.5% of teams had competitive intelligence KPIs in 2026
Teams with KPIs reported a rising win rate at 66%, versus 24% among teams without them. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
69. 56.7% had an executive sponsor in sales in 2026
Sponsored teams reported improving win rates at 62%, versus 33% without a sponsor. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
70. 90% of teams with three core foundations reported revenue impact
Teams combining defined KPIs, a dedicated CI platform and a sales executive sponsor reported impact at 90%, versus 25% among teams with none. Crayon, 2026 State of Competitive Intelligence.
Win-loss analysis and competitive intelligence maturity
71. 63% of companies said win-loss analysis had increased win rates
Clozd found that nearly two-thirds attributed higher win rates to win-loss analysis. Clozd, 2025 State of Win-Loss.
72. 39% ran ongoing, cross-functional win-loss programs
The share rose 31% from Clozd's previous report, and these programs were 53% more likely to report strong ROI than ongoing siloed or project-based programs. Clozd, 2025 State of Win-Loss.
73. 44% outsourced some or all of their win-loss program
The share rose 22%; outsourced programs reported satisfaction with feedback quality and depth at 70%, versus 34% for in-house programs. Clozd, 2025 State of Win-Loss.
74. 95% maintained or increased their win-loss budgets
Only 5% reported a budget reduction. Klue, 2025 Win-Loss Trends Report.
75. 98% of win-loss programs had executive visibility
Almost all programs in Klue's 2025 research were visible to executive leadership. Klue, 2025 Win-Loss Trends Report.
76. 40% of deals went through win-loss analysis
Seventy percent of those reviews were completed within one month of deal closure. Klue, 2025 Win-Loss Trends Report.
77. Combining competitive intelligence with win-loss made significant impact nearly three times more likely
Integrated programs were substantially more likely to report significant business impact. Klue, 2025 Win-Loss Trends Report.
78. 63% of intelligence teams remained at intermediate maturity
Only the top 7% qualified as world class. Valona Intelligence, 2026 Global Market and Competitive Intelligence Report.
79. 100% of world-class teams prioritized strategic analysis capacity
The comparison figure was 48% among average teams; technology investment was 71% versus 58%. Valona Intelligence, 2026 Global Market and Competitive Intelligence Report.
80. 78% of world-class teams measured intelligence ROI
Only 20% of average teams did so. Valona Intelligence, 2026 Global Market and Competitive Intelligence Report.
81. Competitive intelligence tool usage among product marketers reached 47.8%
Usage rose from 38.3% in 2024 and was close to the 49% recorded in 2023. Product Marketing Alliance, 2025 product marketing tools analysis.
82. 65.2% of product marketers were involved in competitive intelligence
Sales enablement was part of the remit for 78.7%, showing substantial overlap between the activities. Product Marketing Alliance, State of Product Marketing Report 2025.
83. Competitive intelligence team sizes increased 24%
Competitive Intelligence Alliance linked the increase to greater investment in analysis and competitive strategy. Competitive Intelligence Alliance, 2025 trends review.
Market size, adoption and commercial outcomes
84. One estimate valued the global competitive intelligence market at $50.87 billion in 2024
DataHorizzon forecasts $122.77 billion by 2033, representing a 9.1% CAGR. DataHorizzon Research.
85. Mordor valued the competitive intelligence tools market at $0.59 billion in 2025
It forecasts $1.46 billion by 2030, a 19.96% CAGR. Mordor Intelligence.
86. Fortune Business Insights valued the tools market at $0.71 billion in 2025
It forecasts $4.03 billion by 2034, a 21.17% CAGR from 2026 to 2034. Fortune Business Insights.
87. A broader market definition produced a $53.2 billion estimate for 2023
Research and Markets forecasts $96.0 billion by 2030, an 8.8% CAGR. Research and Markets via GlobeNewswire.
87. Software platforms held 68.23% of the tools market in 2024
Services are forecast to grow at a 20.64% CAGR through 2030. Mordor Intelligence.
88. Cloud deployment held 78.04% of the tools market in 2024
Mordor forecasts a 22.64% CAGR for the cloud segment through 2030. Mordor Intelligence.
89. Large enterprises held 63.18% of the tools market in 2024
SME spending is forecast to grow at a 21.53% CAGR through 2030. Mordor Intelligence.
90. North America held 39.41% of the tools market in 2024
Asia-Pacific is forecast to grow fastest, at a 23.67% CAGR through 2030. Mordor Intelligence.
91. Coherent Market Insights estimates cloud deployment at 76.9% in 2026
The corrected figure replaces the earlier claim of 75.9% in 2025. Coherent Market Insights.
92. Gartner expects 40% of technology and service providers to use commercial CI tools by 2026
The comparison cited by Autobound was roughly 10% a few years earlier. Gartner, cited by Autobound.
93. 90% of Fortune 500 companies use competitive intelligence
DataHorizzon attributes the benchmark to Evalueserve. Evalueserve, cited by DataHorizzon Research.
94. 43% of leaders used competitive intelligence to shape customer-experience strategy
Product-roadmap development and marketing-campaign planning each accounted for 23% in Sedulo's 2026 analysis. Sedulo Group.
95. 46% of executives expected their organizations to be scaling AI in 2025
Another 44% expected to use AI for innovation, while only 6% expected still to be experimenting. IBM Institute for Business Value.
96. Companies tracking competitive win rates were 31% more likely to exceed revenue targets
The article attributes the finding to Klue research. Klue, cited by Monetizely.
97. Formal win-loss programs were associated with 15% to 30% improvements in win rates
The article attributes the range to Gartner. Gartner, cited by Monetizely.
98. Teams using conversational intelligence to track competitor mentions reported an 82% lift in win rates
Crayon reported the result in its summary of the 2025 benchmark. Crayon, 2025 State of Competitive Intelligence.
99. Generative AI was associated with 33% higher prediction accuracy and 45% less data-processing time
Mordor cites research by Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals. SCIP, cited by Mordor Intelligence.
100. Enterprises using integrated research suites reported a 110% return
Mordor presents the figure as evidence of returns from continuous-intelligence workflows. Mordor Intelligence.
101. Retail pricing intelligence was associated with 3% to 8% revenue uplift
The same source reports 1% to 4% margin improvement and 22% faster competitive response times, citing Gartner and BCG for the financial ranges. Gartner and BCG, cited by 42Signals.
Sources
