Tender and RFP responses
We answer dozens of tenders and RFPs a year. Can AI draft the first pass?
Last updated
Yes. AI can draft the first pass of a tender or RFP response from your own past submissions, capability statements, CVs and case examples held in SharePoint. It reads the RFT, builds the compliance matrix, drafts each returnable schedule against the evaluation criteria and flags gaps. Bid managers and subject experts still rewrite for the buyer, check every claim and approve the submission.
Who this is for
Bid managers, business development leads and proposal coordinators in construction, facilities management, engineering consultancies, field services and government suppliers. RFTs run to hundreds of pages, the compliance matrix is built by hand, and the team hunts through old submissions in SharePoint. This page covers drafting tender responses. Prequalification portals and packs, and the evidence agencies ask for when you sell an AI product to government, have their own pages.
Solve8 delivers this in fixed-fee phases: discovery on one bid type at one business unit with a measured baseline, a shadow pilot on live tenders where your bid team sets the quality bar, a build in your Microsoft 365 or cloud environment in Australia, then support or handover.
How AI drafts a tender first pass
Build the content library
Past submissions, capability statements, CVs, case studies and policies are indexed from SharePoint, each tagged with an owner, date and approved status. Superseded and losing answers are marked so they are not reused blindly.
Read the RFT
AI reads the conditions of tender, specification, returnable schedules, evaluation criteria and weightings, including addenda.
Build the compliance matrix
Every mandatory requirement is listed with its clause reference, where it will be answered and its status, so nothing is missed in a 300-page pack.
Draft the schedules
Each returnable schedule is drafted from approved library content within the word or page limit, with the source document cited for every paragraph.
Select people and projects
AI proposes the CVs and case examples that best fit the scope and reshapes them into the buyer's format.
Review and approve
Subject experts rewrite and verify, the bid manager signs off, and final edits go back into the library.
What AI drafts and what people own
| Part of the response | AI does | Person does |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance matrix | Extracts every requirement and maps it to a response section | Confirms interpretation of ambiguous clauses and raises RFIs |
| Returnable schedules | Drafts answers from approved content to the criteria and limits | Rewrites for this buyer and checks every claim |
| Capability statement | Assembles current capability, accreditations and resources | Chooses what to lead with for this scope |
| CVs | Tailors approved CVs to the roles and format requested | Each person confirms their CV is accurate and current |
| Case examples | Shortlists similar projects and drafts summaries | Confirms outcomes, figures and referee permission |
| Methodology and price | Gathers past methods for reference only | Writes the approach for this site and sets the price |
Keeping answers specific to the evaluator
Generic answers lose marks
Australian Tenders warns that when suppliers use the same tools, responses start to look alike, and generic answers score poorly on qualitative criteria.
Win themes come first
The bid manager sets the themes and differentiators for each bid before drafting, and the AI writes to them.
Answer the criterion's words
Drafts follow the structure, language and weighting of each criterion in this RFT.
Evidence over adjectives
Named projects, measured results and the people who will do the work. Filler phrases are on a banned list, and any claim without a source document is flagged.
Expert input
Short interviews with the project lead are transcribed and fed in, so the draft carries detail only your people know.
Confidentiality of tender documents
Keep RFTs out of public tools
Conditions of tender often restrict how documents are used and shared. Australian Tenders notes that uploading tender documents, pricing or client data into public AI tools may breach tender terms, NDAs or privacy law.
CVs are personal information
The OAIC says privacy obligations apply to any personal information put into an AI system and recommends not entering personal information into publicly available AI tools.
Run it in your environment
The library and model calls sit in your Microsoft 365 or cloud environment in Australia, respect existing SharePoint permissions, and your content trains no model.
Pricing stays separate
Commercial schedules and rates are kept out of the AI workspace and handled by the commercial team.
Government buyers and AI disclosure
We know of no single Australian rule that requires every supplier to disclose AI use in a tender response, but some buyers now ask suppliers to declare whether AI helped prepare a submission, and answering that question inaccurately is a probity problem. The NSW buy.nsw AI procurement essentials cover agencies buying AI systems, not suppliers using AI to write bids. Read the conditions of tender every time and keep a record of which sections AI drafted and who reviewed them.
Who approves
Bid manager
Owns the compliance matrix, win themes and the final document.
Subject experts and project leads
Sign off technical claims, methodology and case example outcomes.
Commercial lead or executive
Approves price, departures from the contract and any declarations.
Library owner
Keeps capability content, CVs and policies current and retires superseded answers.
Related work
Mining prequalification packsPortals, insurances, licences and safety statistics kept consistent across clients.
Selling AI to QLD and NSW governmentThe evidence agencies ask for when you supply an AI product.
Construction and infrastructureSubcontractor compliance, ITPs and progress claims taken off project teams.
Private AI infrastructureAI running on your own cloud or servers in Australia under your security policies.
Sources
Australian Tenders, The hidden risks of using AI to write tender responses: https://info.australiantenders.com.au/blog/the-hidden-risks-of-using-ai-to-write-tender-responses-and-how-to-avoid-them
OAIC, Guidance on privacy and the use of commercially available AI products: https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/privacy-guidance-for-organisations-and-government-agencies/guidance-on-privacy-and-the-use-of-commercially-available-ai-products
buy.nsw, Artificial intelligence (AI) procurement essentials: https://www.info.buy.nsw.gov.au/resources/artificial-intelligence-ai-procurement-essentials
Questions
Will evaluators notice a tender response written by AI?
They notice generic answers, whoever wrote them. Responses that repeat stock phrases, ignore the criterion's wording or lack named projects and people score poorly. A first draft built from your own approved content and rewritten by the people doing the work carries the project detail evaluators look for.
Can we put RFT documents into ChatGPT or Copilot?
Check the conditions of tender first, since many restrict use and disclosure. Public consumer tools are the wrong place for tender documents, pricing or CVs. An enterprise tool inside your Microsoft 365 or cloud environment, with data kept in Australia and no model training on your content, is the safer route.
How much of a tender response can AI draft?
Most of the compliance matrix and a usable first draft of repeatable schedules such as capability, quality, safety, CVs and case examples. Methodology for a specific site, pricing and win strategy still come from your people. The time saved is in searching and assembling, which is where bid teams lose most days.
Our past bids are scattered across SharePoint. Do we clean them up first?
Partly. AI can index messy folders, but it will reuse superseded or losing answers unless they are marked. Discovery usually starts by tagging the last two years of submissions as approved, superseded or lost, and naming an owner for each content area.
Who can set up AI tender drafting in Brisbane, Sydney or Perth?
Tender software vendors sell standalone drafting tools. An AI consultancy can build the library and drafting on your own SharePoint and environment, connected to your CV and project records. Solve8 does this for organisations across Australia and New Zealand, with workshops on site and builds run remotely under your access controls.
Related
- Every mining client wants a different prequalification pack and tender response. Can AI cut the paperwork?How AI drafts mining prequalification and tender answers from a controlled document library, flags expired certificates and keeps every answer consistent.
- We want to sell an AI solution to Queensland or NSW government agencies. What evidence will they ask us for?What Queensland and NSW agencies ask AI suppliers for: FAIRA inputs, QPPs, the NSW AI Assessment Framework, and a checklist of evidence to have ready.
- We bought Microsoft 365 Copilot licences. How do we make sure it doesn't show staff files they shouldn't see?Microsoft 365 Copilot only shows what staff can already open, so oversharing is a permissions fix. Reports, labels and Purview steps to run before rollout.
- Construction and infrastructureClaims, reporting and site data.
- Private AI infrastructureAI that runs inside your own environment.
- Custom AI developmentAI that reads, checks and drafts the first pass.
Answering more tenders than your team can write?
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Fixed-fee phases, agreed before we start. Stop after any phase.