# Track a competitor's awards

To track a competitor's awards with an AI agent, ask it to call search_awards with the competitor's recipient_uei, optionally with action_from for recent activity. It returns their contract actions from USAspending with agency, PIID, NAICS, obligated amount, vehicle and potential end date, which the agent groups into where they win and what ends soon.

Business development teams doing competitive analysis before a capture decision, and founders who keep losing to the same firm. Award history shows a competitor's real customers and price points better than their website does.

## The prompt

```
Show me the federal contract awards for UEI ABCDEFGH1234 since 2025-10-01. Group them by agency, give totals, and list any contracts whose potential end date is in the next 12 months.
```

## What the agent calls

1. search_awards: Every award action for the recipient since the date; the agent groups and totals them.

```json
{"name":"search_awards","arguments":{"recipient_uei":"ABCDEFGH1234","action_from":"2025-10-01","limit":100,"user_request":"competitor award history"}}
```

## Sample output

Trimmed; field names and structure match the live response, values are shortened or illustrative.

```json
{
  "data": [
    {
      "piid": "47QSSC27P0CHX",
      "award_type": "PURCHASE ORDER",
      "awarding_agency": "General Services Administration",
      "naics": "339940",
      "obligated": 1576,
      "action_date": "2026-11-03",
      "potential_end_date": "2026-11-23",
      "competition": "NOT COMPETED UNDER SAP"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "as_of": "2026-11-12",
    "credits_charged": 1,
    "next_cursor": null
  }
}
```

## How to read the answer

- Each row is an award as last reported, not every modification. obligated is the amount obligated so far; potential_value adds unexercised options.
- competition and number_of_offers show whether the competitor wins in open competition or through sole-source and small purchases.

## Make it yours

- Use recipient with part of the name when you do not have the UEI, then confirm the UEI with get_entity.
- Add naics to see only the competitor's work in your code.

## Pitfalls

- Large companies register several UEIs (subsidiaries, divisions). Search each one or use the parent name.
- Award history is the metered history endpoint on REST (/entities/{uei}/awards, 3x credits); search_awards with recipient_uei is a normal search.

## The same job over REST

```bash
curl "https://samgovapi.io/api/v1/awards?recipient_uei=ABCDEFGH1234&action_from=2025-10-01&limit=100" -H "Authorization: Bearer $SAMGOVAPI_API_KEY"
```

Plan: every plan. Credits: 1 credit per 100 rows returned, minimum 1.

## Questions

### How current is the award data?

USAspending contract data is loaded nightly; each answer carries meta.as_of. Agencies can report awards days or weeks after signing.

### Can I see their subcontracts?

Prime awards only. Subaward reporting is sparse and is not part of this search.

All recipes: https://samgovapi.io/agents/recipes.md

Independent. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by GSA, SAM.gov or any U.S. government agency. Registering in SAM.gov is free at sam.gov.