# Manage competitors

> How to add and remove the competitors AI compares you against, why the set matters more than its size, and what happens when you add one.

- Section: Guides
- Updated: 2026-07-11
- Canonical: https://knitknot.ai/docs/manage-competitors/
- Publisher: KnitKnot, the AI Presence Management platform (https://knitknot.ai)

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Your competitor set defines who you're measured against — every head-to-head prompt, every win-loss tally, and every "AI picked them over you" finding is scoped to it. Getting this set right matters more than getting it long. A handful of the competitors buyers actually weigh you against beats a sprawling list of names AI never mentions.

You manage competitors from the identity area of the **Prompts** page in the [console](https://app.knitknot.ai).

## Who's in the set

Your workspace usually arrives with a researched competitor set already in place — the vendors AI actually compares you against, each carrying the same depth of profile as your own company: features, positioning, differentiators, and recent launches, all backed by source links.

Competitors are tracked per [subject](/docs/subjects/). Your brand and each of its products can face a different competitive field — the tools you compete with on your flagship product aren't always the ones you compete with on a newer SKU.

## Add a competitor

Add a competitor by name from the competitors panel. When you do, KnitKnot kicks off a research pass on that company — same profile depth as the rest of the set — so give it a moment before its details fill in. A newly added competitor starts contributing to head-to-head prompts on the next benchmark run.

Add a competitor when you see AI recommending a vendor that isn't in your set, or when you move into a market with a different field. The [sources](/docs/read-your-report/) and comparison views in your report are the best signal for who's missing.

## Remove a competitor

Removing a competitor takes it out of your set without erasing the research behind it — the profile is preserved, and if you re-add the company later its confirmed details come back. Remove competitors that aren't credible rivals; a padded list dilutes your win-rate and spends benchmark budget on comparisons buyers never make.

## Keep the bar high

The goal isn't complete coverage of every company in your category — it's the set a buyer would actually shortlist alongside you. Fewer, credible competitors give you a sharper, more trustworthy report than a long tail of names that only muddy the numbers.

Next: [benchmark products separately](/docs/benchmark-products-separately/) if you need per-product competitive fields, or [run a benchmark](/docs/run-and-schedule-benchmarks/).