If you’re the person everyone looks to for competitor updates but you’re drowning in tabs, copy-pasting, and Slack messages, this post is for you. Automating your intel collection in Klue can save you hours (and your sanity), but only if you set it up right and don’t get distracted by shiny, half-baked features. Here’s how to actually get faster, better insights—without messing up your workflow or making your team hate you.
Why Automate Intel Collection in the First Place?
Let’s be honest: most intel collection is grunt work. You’re:
- Scraping news sites and press releases
- Digging through Google Alerts
- Reading endless Reddit and forum threads
- Sifting through emails, Slack, and CRM notes
It’s easy to miss something big. Or waste time chasing dead ends. Automation in Klue isn’t about replacing your brain—it’s about clearing out the noise so you can focus on the good stuff.
Step 1: Get Clear on What (and Who) You’re Automating For
Before you turn on a single feed or bot, nail down:
- What info actually matters: Is it product launches? Exec changes? Pricing moves? Don’t automate all-the-things. Pick the signals that move the needle.
- Who needs the intel: Sales? Product? The exec team? Each group cares about different things and drowns in different junk.
- What you’ll do with it: If an insight lands in Klue and nobody reads it, does it help you? Nope.
Pro tip: Write out your “must-have” intel sources and the top 2-3 questions you get from stakeholders. Build backwards from there.
Step 2: Map Your Intel Sources—And Be Brutally Honest
Klue can pull in a lot, but more isn’t always better. List out:
- Websites (competitor blogs, newsrooms)
- Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Glassdoor)
- News aggregators (Google News, Feedly)
- Internal channels (Slack, emails, CRM notes)
- Review sites (G2, TrustRadius)
- Forums and communities
What works: Direct, RSS-friendly sources. Clear, public competitor comms.
What doesn’t: Gated forums, random screenshots, or anything that needs constant manual wrangling.
Ignore: Data sources you think you should track but never actually use. Less is more.
Step 3: Set Up Automated Feeds in Klue
Here’s where you put Klue to work. Most users skip straight to “add every feed possible,” but that just creates noise. Go slow:
A. Use Klue’s Built-In Feed Options
- RSS/Atom feeds: Most blogs, newsrooms, and even Reddit threads have them.
- Google Alerts: Direct to Klue, or use a tool like Zapier if you need to filter.
- Social feeds: LinkedIn company updates and Twitter handles can be piped in, but volume control is key.
B. Integrate Internal Channels
- Slack: Set up keyword triggers or channel integrations (but filter ruthlessly).
- Email: Forward competitor update emails direct to Klue’s inbox.
C. Connect Review Sites or CRM
- G2 / TrustRadius: If you care about reviews, these can be gold—but beware: volume can be overwhelming.
- CRM notes: Only if your sales team actually logs useful intel (many don’t).
Pro tip: Start with 3-5 high-signal sources. You can always add more later. Don’t try to boil the ocean.
Step 4: Tune Your Filters—Otherwise, You’ll Drown
Automated feeds are only as good as their filters. If you funnel everything in, you’ll still be stuck reading junk.
- Set up keyword filters: E.g., only pull stories with “launch”, “price”, “feature”, etc.
- Block useless topics: Ignore job listings if you don’t care about hiring trends.
- Train your inputs: If a feed keeps delivering garbage, cut it or get more specific.
What works: Aggressive filtering. You can always loosen up later.
What doesn’t: “We’ll just review everything manually.” No, you won’t. You’ll miss stuff or burn out.
Step 5: Build (Simple) Tagging and Workflows
Don’t over-engineer your setup. The goal is to route good intel to the right people, fast.
- Auto-tag by source or topic: E.g., “Competitor X – Product Update”
- Set up notifications: Only trigger alerts for major moves, not every single blog post.
- Assign owners: Who reviews the flow? Who summarizes or flags big stuff?
Pro tip: If nobody’s reading your intel, your workflow is broken. Check in with your “customers” (sales, execs, product) every month.
Step 6: Close the Loop—Turn Raw Intel into Actual Insights
Feeding Klue with data is pointless unless someone turns it into something useful. Build this into your weekly routine:
- Review flagged intel: Don’t just skim—ask, “Does this matter to us?”
- Summarize for stakeholders: Short, plain-English updates beat a wall of links.
- Archive or delete noise: If a source keeps delivering fluff, prune it.
What works: Human curation. Even the slickest automation can’t replace common sense.
What doesn’t: Blindly dumping raw feeds into channels. Nobody wants homework.
Step 7: Audit & Iterate—Don’t Set It and Forget It
Automated intel collection isn’t “set and forget.” It’s “set, test, tweak, repeat.”
- Monthly audit: What sources are delivering gold? What’s just noise?
- Feedback loop: Ask your team what they actually used or ignored.
- Prune ruthlessly: Cut dead weight. Add new sources only if they solve a real problem.
Pro tip: Keep your setup simple enough that you can fix or tweak it yourself. If you need an admin to rewire things every time, it’s too complex.
What to Ignore (Seriously)
- Automating everything: Some sources just aren’t worth it. Manual checks (once a month) are fine for low-value stuff.
- Klue’s “magic” AI summaries: Sometimes useful, sometimes gibberish. Always double-check.
- Spending weeks on taxonomy: Tagging helps, but don’t let it become a part-time job.
- Over-notifying: You’ll train people to ignore alerts if they’re too frequent.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Ship It Fast
Automating intel collection in Klue can save you hours and actually make your insights more useful—if you focus on what matters and keep things lean. Start with a few high-quality sources. Filter hard. Only automate what’s truly repetitive. And check in with your team to make sure your “automation” isn’t just creating more noise.
Iterate as you go, and don’t be afraid to cut what isn’t working. The goal isn’t to automate everything—it’s to get the right intel to the right people, faster, with less busywork. That’s what actually moves the needle.