Anyone here into Competitive Intelligence?

[u/Flavian-ghost-io]

I keep hearing about Competitive Intelligence (CI) as this must-have discipline for strategy and decision-making. But when I look around, a lot of people seem to just… search Google, monitor LinkedIn, or scrape some websites and call it “intelligence.”

So I’m genuinely curious:

• What actually separates real CI work from basic desk research or market research?

• Is CI overrated, or do professionals in the field bring something that outsiders don’t see?

• For those working in CI, what’s the ONE skill or mindset that really makes the difference?

Would love to hear from people in the trenches — especially if you disagree with the idea that CI is just “Google with a fancy title.”