Bids are a common way for businesses, organisations and individuals to compete for work or funding. These bids can take different forms depending on the nature of the bid opportunity. Submitted bids need to be well-researched, and written in a way that resonates with the recipient. Also, the bid writer requires strong writing skills and attention to detail, to ensure that it stands a chance of being selected.
All these factors make bid writing a complex, demanding process. Preparing a bid response can be costly and time-consuming for organisations. Therefore, with the development of Artificial Intelligence, many professionals are turning to the technology as a tool to save time and streamline difficult tasks.
However, although some organisations find it compelling, AI must be deployed carefully to ensure bids remain compelling, compliant, and ready for review. The experts at BWS delve into the do’s and don’ts of using AI in bid writing, so that AI translates into won contracts, not the reverse.
The DOs
Do use it for research
AI can be a great tool for researching and generally making a start on your bid writing project. Conducting thorough research to understand the client, industry, and project requirements can be time-consuming, but using AI can help to streamline those early-stage tasks.
Do use it to categorise information
Another way you can use AI to write your bids is to develop a bid plan. When trying to organise complex documents with large volumes of information, AI can be great to help create structure and break down specifications into digestible segments. This can help you outline the structure of your bid and the key messages you want to convey throughout, that way you have something to work against and will help you build a nice flow of information.
Do tailor your responses
Using AI-generated content can be a great starting point, but always make sure you personalise your use of language, tone, and examples to suit your audience. A bid should always reflect your organisation’s unique voice, values, and your know-how, which is something AI isn’t capable of recreating.
Do use AI to save time, not to replace
Think of AI as a helpful assistant – it can support tasks such as idea generation, drafting, and proofing, but shouldn’t be driving the bid writing process alone. We’ll leave that one to the human bid-writers.
The DON’TS
Don’t rely on AI’s knowledge as fact
AI is an incredibly smart tool, but even the smartest of intelligences can get things wrong sometimes. Always make sure to fact-check any information it provides. This is particularly important if it involves legislation, company history, or data claims. There could be serious drawbacks if these errors are not corrected in the final bid.
Don’t input any sensitive information
Avoid pasting confidential client details, pricing, or personal data into public AI tools. Any data you share with AI models could be misused or exploited, which could compromise your client relationships, and potentially breach data protection regulations.
Don’t forget human oversight
When it comes to bid writing, human judgement is critical. AI doesn’t have the strategic thinking, or the emotional intelligence required, for persuasive, client-specific responses. If your submission is too generic or identified as AI to an evaluator, it will be evident that you have used AI to write your bid response, which could be interpreted as a lack of effort on your part.
Don’t use AI to cut corners on compliance
Certain tasks like checking formatting, completing forms, or meeting word counts require manual attention. AI can help, but compliance is your responsibility. Even minor mistakes like missing a signature or uploading the wrong file type can mean disqualification.