Thanks, and agreed, designers should not be using competitive audits to copy ideas! Rather a competitive (or comparative) audit should be considered as another input in the process. The data gathered can provide useful insight, either sparking inspiration or even cautioning against certain directions. I consider a competitive audit one of three buckets of input, along with business goals and user needs. It’s the job of the strategist or designer to connect the dots between these three buckets to create an experience, product, or service that meets business goals and user needs while embracing opportunity in the market space.