Banking Sector - Competitive Intelligence for Community Banks
Community‑bank leaders can turn ChatGPT's Deep Research mode into a low‑cost competitive‑intelligence function.
Introduction
AI tools like ChatGPT's deep research can be very useful as a tool for competitive research. However, they can also fall short, if not given the correct prompt. Here is a useful prompt that can allow community bank and credit unions to fully utilize the capabilities of deep research. It will help you avoid some of the common pitfalls that the AI agents commonly encounter when gathering competitive research. For example, in the banking space there are tons of various "money blogs", and other websites that categorize the best types of accounts. But, those often become stale and don't have the correct information on them. This prompt includes careful instructions to make sure products like Deep Research only gather data from the institution's current website. Feel free to change what makes sense for your situation to get the most out of the prompt below. You can focus on commercial products, change the asset filters, or anything else you'd like
The Exact Prompt
TASK: Build a retail-product gap analysis for one community bank and four nearby peers, ranked by marketing impact.
Home Bank: Republic Bank Louisville, KY
CONTEXT:
You are acting for a marketing leader at a community bank that wants quick competitive intelligence on consumer deposit products.
INPUTS / ASSUMPTIONS:
* Find four peer banks or credit unions that each hold under ten billion dollars in assets and have branches within thirty miles of the home bank.
* Focus on consumer products only: checking, savings, CDs, debit cards, credit cards, consumer facing perks like early direct deposit or round-up savings.
* Ignore mortgages, commercial lines, investments, and insurance.
* Pull information from public web pages and app-store descriptions that appear in the top ten search results for each institution.
OPERATIONS ALLOWED:
* Browse the live web for public pages.
* Extract rates, fees, perks, and product names.
* Only use the actual institution website as sources. Do not use outside sources like money blogs or other articles.
* Summarize findings. No private or paid sources.
CONSTRAINTS:
* Proceed without asking clarifying questions.
* If a value is missing, write "N/A" rather than guessing.
* Limit the entire answer to 1 000 words.
OUTPUT SPEC:
1. **Markdown comparison table**
Rows = product types, Columns = Home Bank + 4 peers.
Each cell: "<rate>% / $<monthly fee> | <perk>".
2. **Top-5 gaps list**
Bullet list. For each gap give: leader bank, one-sentence description, ≤20-word suggested action.
3. **120-word executive recap**
Plain paragraph a CMO can read in thirty seconds.
EVALUATION RUBRIC:
* Coverage: capture at least one checking, one savings, and one CD from every bank.
* Accuracy: numeric values match sources cited in parentheses.
* Clarity: gaps are specific, actions are doable.
QUALITY BAR:
* Any missing table column or more than one "N/A" per bank fails.
* Rerun internal check before output.
EXCLUSIONS:
* No footnotes, no philosophical commentary, no raw JSON, no hidden chain-of-thought.
Sample Output
Below is an excerpt from a real Deep Research run for Republic Bank in Louisville. It came straight from ChatGPT with zero manual edits. I've preserved the formatting so you can see exactly what to expect.
Comparison of Consumer Deposit Products
| Product | Republic Bank | Stock Yards Bank | L&N Federal CU | Park Community CU | Central Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Checking | 0% / $4.95 | Early direct deposit (2 days) | 0% / $0 | Free basic checking | 5.00% / $0 | Vertical Checking up to $15k | 0.05% / $0 | Interest checking | 0% / $0 | Free checking + ATM refunds |
| Savings | 0.05% / $0 | No-minimum statement savings | 0.15% / $0 | Regular savings | 0.05% / $0 | Base share account | 0.07% / $0 | Tiered regular savings | 0.85% / $0 | High-yield savings |
| 12-mo CD | 3.25% / $0 | Standard 12-mo CD | 4.25% / $0 | 15-mo promo CD | 4.50% / $0 | 15-mo promo CD | 4.00% / $0 | 13-mo special CD | 3.85% / $0 | Promo CD |
| Debit Card | 0% / $0 | Free Mastercard w/ early pay | 0% / $0 | Debit Mastercard w/ controls | 0% / $0 | Round-up savings option | 0% / $0 | “Savings Jar” round-up + match | 0% / $0 | Free Debit Mastercard |
| Credit Card | N/A / N/A | No consumer card | 1% / $0 | Cash-back Visa | 2%/1% / $0 | Cash-back Mastercard | 0% intro / $0 | 0% APR 6-mo intro | 1% / $0 | Rewards credit card |
Top 5 Gaps and Opportunities
- L&N Federal CU – High-Yield Checking: 5 % APY on balances to $15 k eclipses Republic’s 0 %. Action: Launch competitive interest- or rewards-checking.
- Central Bank – Savings-Rate Leadership: Basic savings pays 0.85 % vs. Republic’s 0.05 %. Action: Raise savings yield or add tiered rates.
- Park Community CU – Matched Round-Up Savings: “Savings Jar” rounds up purchases and matches up to $250/yr. Action: Introduce round-up savings with annual match.
- Stock Yards Bank – Promotional CD Rates: 4.25 % 15-month CD beats Republic’s 3.25 % 12-month. Action: Offer limited-time CD specials ≥ 4 %.
- Republic Bank – Early-Pay Advantage (Lead): Two-day early direct deposit is unequaled locally. Action: Spotlight early pay in campaigns.
Executive Recap
Republic Bank delivers fee-free checking, zero-fee savings, and a unique two-day early-pay benefit, yet peers outpace it on yield-driven products and engagement perks. L&N Federal Credit Union captures deposits with a 5 % rewards checking account and a 2 %/1 % cash-back card. Central Bank’s 0.85 % savings rate and Park Community’s matched round-up program reward everyday behavior, while Stock Yards Bank lures rate-sensitive customers via 4.25 % promotional CDs. To close these gaps, Republic should introduce high-yield or rewards checking, raise savings rates, launch CD specials at or above 4 %, and partner for a no-fee cash-back credit card. Amplifying the “get paid sooner” message can differentiate on speed rather than solely rate.
Ready to try it? Copy the prompt above into ChatGPT's Deep Research mode, replace the home‑bank line, and watch your own competitive snapshot appear in minutes.