Competitor FAQ & Support Policy Drift Monitor

Detect competitor support-policy, FAQ, SLA and return-policy shifts from recurring website-content datasets. Returns structured, machine-readable results for repeatable research, monitoring, automation, Apify Tasks, API workflows, and AI agents. Returns structured, machine-readable.

Quick start

Start with this working example and replace the target values with your own:

{
  "currentItems": [
    {
      "company": "Acme",
      "faqTopic": "Refunds",
      "policyText": "30 day refund plus live chat",
      "commitmentScore": 8
    },
    {
      "company": "Acme",
      "faqTopic": "Support",
      "policyText": "24/7 priority support",
      "commitmentScore": 9
    }
  ],
  "previousItems": [
    {
      "company": "Acme",
      "faqTopic": "Refunds",
      "policyText": "14 day refund",
      "commitmentScore": 5
    },
    {
      "company": "Acme",
      "faqTopic": "Support",
      "policyText": "business hours support",
      "commitmentScore": 4
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 20000
}

The Actor writes structured results to the default Apify Dataset and can be used from the Store, API, schedules, Tasks, automations and MCP-compatible AI workflows.

Input

• currentItems — Current records: Current source or normalized rows to analyze.
• currentDatasetId — Current Apify Dataset ID: Optional Apify Dataset ID used when currentItems is not supplied.
• previousDatasetId — Previous Apify Dataset ID: Optional previous Apify Dataset ID used instead of previousItems.
• maxItems — Maximum records: Maximum records loaded from a Dataset input.

All integration and advanced analysis fields are optional. The default example is intentionally runnable without configuring MCP or a previous-run baseline.

Output

The Dataset exposes predictable machine-readable output. Representative fields include results.

Pricing

This Actor uses Pay Per Event. The current factory base price is $0.012000 per result event. The Apify Store remains the source of truth for the price and plan/tier details shown to the buyer.

Use cases

• Run the buyer-ready workflows exposed as Apify Tasks without preparing a custom integration first.
• Use the Actor from API or schedules for recurring collection, comparison or monitoring.
• Feed the structured Dataset output into spreadsheets, databases, automations or AI agents.
• Compare repeat runs when the product supports snapshots or previous-run inputs.

Automation and AI

Use the same Actor through Apify API, schedules, public Tasks and the Apify MCP server. Outputs are structured for downstream workflows and AI agents rather than requiring manual copy/paste.

Limitations

• Public websites and upstream APIs can change markup, access rules, rate limits or field availability without notice.
• Fields that are not publicly available are returned as unavailable or omitted rather than fabricated.
• Analytical outputs depend on the quality and coverage of the supplied or collected source data.
• Treat marketplace, reputation, workforce, safety or commercial signals as decision support and validate material decisions against the underlying source evidence.

Buyer use case and data coverage

This Actor helps teams compare supplied structured records and produce decision-ready output. Provide current source records or a compatible Apify Dataset; provide a previous snapshot to measure real changes. The first run is a baseline, not proof of newly appeared items or growth.

Results depend on upstream source coverage and may require independent verification. This analytical Actor does not promise to scrape arbitrary marketplaces directly. Use a small sample, verify the default dataset output and actual Store pay-per-event pricing before scheduling recurring runs. This reform preserves the original actor, schema, task definitions and billing.

Detailed documentation

Detailed documentation

Detect competitor support-policy, FAQ, SLA and return-policy shifts from recurring website-content datasets.

Why use this Actor

Website diff tools show changed text but do not summarize whether a competitor materially expanded or reduced support commitments, SLAs or return policies. This Actor sits above raw extraction: supply a current dataset, optionally add a previous snapshot, and receive an aggregated report built for recurring monitoring and AI-agent workflows.

Key features

• Support-policy semantic fields tracked across snapshots.

• FAQ/SLA/return-policy change concentration.

• Competitive commitment expansion/reduction actions.

• Works downstream of website crawlers and change monitors.

• Reads inline JSON rows or Apify Dataset IDs with limited READ permission.

• Writes one auditable report to the default Dataset and INTELLIGENCE_REPORT.

Example

Use the prefilled example or replace currentItems with rows from an upstream Actor. On recurring runs, provide the prior period in previousItems or previousDatasetId. The Actor normalizes common aliases, compares snapshots, ranks the strongest entity changes and emits agentAction.

Use cases

• customer experience intelligence.
• competitive research.
• SaaS product strategy.

Pricing

One primary pay-per-event outcome: one decision-ready intelligence report. Base price USD 0.012 before Apify tier discounts. The 256 MB data-first architecture is designed for strong unit economics.

Limitations

• Analyzes supplied public or appropriately licensed data and does not bypass restricted sources.
• Scores are decision-support signals, not predictions or guarantees.
• Keep stable identifiers across snapshots for best change detection.
• Zero-direct-competition status is rechecked before publication because the Store changes continuously.

Workflow

upstream dataset -> current snapshot -> optional previous snapshot -> normalization -> entity aggregation -> change scoring -> ranked signals -> agentAction.

Input

Provide currentItems as normalized JSON rows or select a cloud Dataset with currentDatasetId. For change analysis, add previousItems or previousDatasetId. The Actor reads Datasets with limited READ permission. Keep identifiers stable across periods and normalize source fields where possible. The prefilled example is intentionally small so the first run can be validated before scaling.

Output

The default Dataset receives one decision-ready intelligence report with record counts, snapshot additions and removals, ranked entity signals, secondary-dimension breadth, a bounded signal score, and agentAction. The same report is stored as INTELLIGENCE_REPORT for downstream automation. Results are designed for Tasks, schedules, webhooks, dashboards, and agent workflows rather than as a replacement for source evidence.

Gen2 decision intelligence

This Actor preserves its original analysis and adds a decision layer with baseline awareness, regression detection, confidence, GO/WARN/BLOCK executive output, and an optional economic-impact estimate. Economic estimates are produced only when the user supplies valuePerImpactUnitUsd; the result states the calculation basis instead of inventing monetary value.

Agent execution and AI discovery (October 2026)

Use this Actor when: Detect competitor support-policy, FAQ, SLA and return-policy shifts from recurring website-content datasets. Returns structured, machine-readable results for repeatable research, monitoring, automation, Apify Tasks, API workflows, and...

For AI agents and automations:

• Find this Actor in Apify Store by its use case and verify its actual input and pricing through Apify MCP (search-actors and fetch-actor-details). Availability and ranking in Apify AI are controlled by Apify; discovery is not guaranteed.
• Read the Input tab or input schema. Recognized fields include currentItems, currentDatasetId, previousItems, previousDatasetId, maxItems, valuePerImpactUnitUsd, monthlyRuns, previousAnalysis. Required fields: See the Input tab for valid example values. Do not invent records or credentials.
• Supply a small representative input first. Use Apify API, Tasks, or MCP to run and retrieve the structured dataset; inspect the output schema rather than assuming all inputs produce the same rows.
• For programmatic calls, set timeouts and maxTotalChargeUsd in run options to limit exposure. Check the Apify Pricing tab for billable events and discounts.
• Payment compatibility: this Actor is published with limited permissions and pay-per-event pricing. Apify AGI prepaid x402 tokens can execute limited-permission Actors. Direct per-request payment is a separate, conditional feature that may require additional eligibility checks and creator verification. Do not interpret this paragraph as proof of approved KYC or guaranteed payment acceptance.
• This Actor does not independently guarantee real-time access to a third-party source. Verify input provenance and important conclusions, and do not supply confidential personal data unnecessarily.

Reliability and comparable evidence (26 October 2026)

Inputs must be arrays of objects. Current and previous records are deduplicated by explicit stable ID, or by full record when no stable ID exists. The output includes inputQuality counts, so repeated feed rows do not inflate confidence and directional signals. An absent previous snapshot produces BASELINE_REQUIRED without claims of change; an explicitly empty previousItems array is a valid comparison baseline. Invalid maxItems or oversized arrays are rejected; non-finite and boolean numeric values are treated as zero. Pricing and output schema for existing fields are preserved.