Key takeaways

Write the steps down before you open a tool: sources, what to look for, what the brief looks like.
AI does the reading and summarising. You check that every line has a source.
My first brief was too long for anyone to read. One page was the fix.
Time the old way and the new way. Four hours to one is a 75% cut, and the hours went back into client work.

Weekly competitor and account research took four hours. I wrote the steps down first, then let Claude, n8n and Make do the reading. It took one.

What happened

In April 2026 I took over the growth team at DemandNexus, a B2B demand-generation agency. Every week someone had to read what competitors had published and check what our accounts were doing. It took four hours.

Before I touched a tool, I wrote the steps down: which sources, what to look for, what the brief should look like. Then Claude, n8n and Make did the reading. I checked every brief and struck any line with no source. The job fell to one hour, and the three hours went back into client work.

The first version went wrong in a plain way. The brief listed everything the tool found. It ran so long that nobody read it, and a brief nobody reads saves no time. I cut it to one page, with what changed since last week at the top. Next time I’d set the one-page limit on day one.

Try it

Pick one weekly job that repeats and eats hours. Before any tool, write down the sources, what to look for and what the finished page looks like.
Give the steps to Claude. It reads and summarises. You strike any line without a source.
Cap the length at one page, with what changed since last week first.
Automate the trigger. Once the brief reads well, have n8n or Make start it each week and put it where the team already looks. There’s a side-by-side version for both tools.
Time it. One week the old way, one week the new, and write the two numbers next to each other.

Where it goes wrong

The tool states something with no source. Strike it.
It misses a source you never listed. Review the source list once a month.
The brief grows until nobody reads it. Keep it to one page.

This week, do steps 1 and 5. Pick the job, write the steps down and time how long it takes today.

The full story is in the DemandNexus case study. Next in the track: your first automation. This lesson is part of Marketing with AI.

Sources

DemandNexus case study: the 4 hours to 1 figure and the tools used.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need n8n or Make to start?

No. Start with the written steps and Claude on its own. Automate the trigger only once the brief reads well. I used Claude, n8n and Make together.

How do I know the brief is right?

Check every line against its source and strike anything with no source. If a line can't be traced, it doesn't go to the team.

Three-minute lesson on this Build a weekly research brief Marketing course, advanced. Free, no sign-up.

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