· 7 min read
By the end of this guide, you will have a 5-agent market research system that takes a market question, investigates it across four parallel tracks, and delivers a structured market intelligence report. The system covers market sizing, competitive landscape analysis, trend identification, and opportunity mapping -- the four pillars of any serious market research effort.
This agent team replaces the typical market research workflow where one analyst tries to do everything sequentially over several weeks. Instead, four specialist agents work their assigned tracks simultaneously while a Research Director coordinates the effort and ensures the final output is coherent, consistent, and directly answers the original question. A research question that would take a human analyst 2-3 weeks of desk research compresses to under an hour.
You need Claude Code or the Claude Agent SDK installed and configured. You also need a well-defined market research question. Precision matters here. "Tell me about the AI market" is too broad to produce useful output. "What is the total addressable market for AI-powered contract analysis tools in the US legal sector, who are the current players, and where are the underserved segments?" gives your agents a specific target.
Prepare any context you already have: your company's position in the market, existing assumptions you want validated or challenged, specific competitors you want analyzed, and the decision this research will inform (market entry, product strategy, investment thesis, partnership evaluation).
Mission: Receive the market research question, decompose it into four investigation tracks (sizing, competition, trends, opportunities), assign each to the appropriate specialist, review intermediate findings for quality and consistency, request follow-up investigations where data is thin, and compile the final market intelligence report.
The Research Director is the quality control layer. It catches inconsistencies between tracks -- if the Market Sizer estimates the total market at $2B but the Competitive Analyst accounts for only $800M across known players, there is a $1.2B gap that needs explanation. The Director forces this reconciliation.
Prompt guidance: Give the Director the decision context: "This research will inform a go/no-go decision on entering the mid-market segment of the US legal tech market. The key questions the executive team needs answered are: (1) Is the market large enough? (2) Can we differentiate? (3) What is the realistic timeline to revenue?"
Mission: Estimate the Total Addressable Market (TAM), Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) using bottom-up and top-down approaches. Provide methodology transparency so the numbers can be scrutinized.
This agent builds the quantitative foundation. It estimates market size using multiple methodologies -- top-down from industry reports, bottom-up from customer counts and average deal sizes, and value-chain analysis where applicable. Crucially, it shows its work. An unsupported claim that the market is "$5B and growing" is useless. A breakdown showing "42,000 mid-size law firms x $15,000 average annual contract value = $630M SAM" is actionable.
Prompt guidance: Specify which market definition to use. Are you measuring the market for the technology category, the use case, or the buyer segment? "AI contract analysis tools" is a technology definition. "Contract review automation" is a use case definition. "Legal department productivity tools" is a buyer segment definition. Each produces a different number, and the Research Director needs to know which framing is relevant.
Mission: Map the competitive landscape by identifying direct competitors, adjacent competitors, potential entrants, and substitute solutions. For each player, assess market position, differentiation, strengths, weaknesses, and strategic trajectory.
The Competitive Analyst produces a structured map of who is in the market and what they are doing. For each competitor, it captures: founding date, funding or revenue data, target segment, pricing model, key differentiators, recent strategic moves (product launches, partnerships, acquisitions), and customer sentiment signals (reviews, case studies, churn indicators).
Prompt guidance: Distinguish between direct competitors (same product, same customer), indirect competitors (different product, same problem), and potential entrants (companies with the capabilities and incentives to enter). Each category requires different analysis. Also specify the depth: "Detailed profiles for the top 5 direct competitors, brief profiles for up to 10 indirect competitors."
Mission: Identify and evaluate the macro trends, technology shifts, regulatory changes, and buyer behavior patterns that will shape the market over the next 2-5 years. Separate signal from noise by assessing each trend's likely impact and timeline.
This agent looks forward rather than backward. It identifies which trends are accelerating adoption (remote work increasing demand for digital collaboration tools), which are creating headwinds (regulatory tightening increasing compliance costs), and which are changing the competitive dynamics (open-source alternatives commoditizing base functionality).
Prompt guidance: Ask for trends to be rated on two dimensions: impact magnitude (how much the trend would change the market if it plays out) and confidence level (how certain the agent is that the trend will materialize). A high-impact, high-confidence trend is a strategic imperative. A high-impact, low-confidence trend is a scenario to monitor.
Mission: Synthesize findings from the Market Sizer, Competitive Analyst, and Trend Analyst to identify specific market opportunities -- underserved segments, competitive gaps, emerging needs, and timing windows.
The Opportunity Mapper is the strategic layer. It does not just report what exists -- it identifies where the openings are. It cross-references market size data with competitive coverage to find segments that are large enough to be attractive but underserved by current players. It matches trend trajectories with competitive gaps to identify timing windows.
Prompt guidance: Require the Opportunity Mapper to evaluate each identified opportunity on three dimensions: market attractiveness (size, growth, margins), competitive feasibility (how defensible the position would be), and strategic fit (how well the opportunity aligns with the company's capabilities and goals).
Market research tracks are largely independent, making parallel execution natural:
Market research prompts need to emphasize methodology transparency. Numbers without methodology are opinions.
For the Market Sizer: "You are a market sizing analyst. For every estimate you produce, show the methodology: what assumptions you made, what data sources you used, and what the sensitivity range is. Present both a conservative and an optimistic scenario. Never present a single number without a range."
For the Competitive Analyst: "You are a competitive intelligence analyst. For each competitor, provide factual observations and clearly label any inferences. Distinguish between what you know (they raised $50M Series C in January 2026) and what you infer (their burn rate suggests 18-24 months of runway). Never state an inference as a fact."
For the Trend Analyst: "You are a market trends analyst. For each trend you identify, provide: (1) what is happening, (2) the evidence that it is happening, (3) the projected impact on this specific market, (4) the timeline, and (5) your confidence level. Avoid generic trends that apply to every market -- focus on dynamics specific to this sector."
The final deliverable follows a structured template:
For a research question about AI-powered contract analysis in the US legal sector, the output might include:
Market Sizing: TAM of $4.2B (all legal document automation), SAM of $890M (contract-specific tools for firms with 50+ attorneys), SOM of $120-180M (mid-market firms underserved by enterprise solutions). Bottom-up methodology: 8,200 target firms x $18,500 average contract value = $152M. Growth rate: 28% CAGR driven by legal staff cost inflation and remote work normalization.
Competitive Landscape: 4 direct competitors identified (2 well-funded, 2 early-stage), 6 indirect competitors (general legal tech platforms with contract features), 2 potential entrants (document AI companies considering legal vertical). Primary competitive gap: mid-market firms (50-200 attorneys) are underserved -- enterprise solutions are too expensive and complex, small-firm tools lack the sophistication they need.
Top Opportunity: Mid-market contract analysis platform priced at $12-18K annually, positioned between enterprise solutions ($50K+) and small-firm tools ($3-5K). Estimated addressable segment: $210M. Competitive feasibility: high (no strong incumbent in this segment). Timing: favorable -- regulatory requirements are increasing contract review volume while hiring constraints limit staff expansion.
Recurring market monitoring. Run a lighter version of this research team monthly to track changes in the competitive landscape and market dynamics. The Competitive Analyst and Trend Analyst alone can provide a monthly market pulse report.
Hypothesis-driven research. Instead of open-ended exploration, give the team a specific hypothesis to validate: "Mid-market law firms are willing to pay $15K annually for AI contract analysis." The agents then gather evidence for and against, producing a more focused output.
Geographic expansion analysis. Run the same team for different geographic markets to produce a comparative assessment. The Market Sizer and Competitive Analyst findings will differ significantly by region, while trends may be more universal.
Customer voice integration. Add a Customer Research agent that analyzes review data, forum discussions, and case studies to surface what actual buyers say about existing solutions. This qualitative layer often reveals unmet needs that quantitative market data misses.