Navigating the Risks of AI in Bid and Tender Writing: Insights from Industry Professionals

Publication Date: 29 April, 2024, 00:00

In today's competitive business landscape, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent, with its applications ranging from customer service chatbots to data analysis and even bid and tender writing. However, as with any emerging technology, the adoption of AI in bid and tender writing comes with its own set of risks and challenges. To shed light on this topic, let's delve into the experiences and insights shared by industry professionals.

In sharing our experience of the risks and tips, it’s worth remembering, one of the most common pieces of feedback received about a tender response is that it didn’t answer the question asked. If human’s writing content are failing to answer the question, we have to be sure that any AI enhancement does in fact answer the question and not provide some generic response.

Gill Joy, Intend Director:

Gill highlights the potential of AI in providing foundational support for bid and tender writing, citing examples where ChatGPT was used to outline work programs and conduct environmental impact analysis. While these instances yielded beneficial results, Gill remains cautious about fully relying on AI for proposal writing, especially considering the specificity and word limit constraints often associated with such endeavors.

Stuart Hamilton, Intend Associate:

Stuart acknowledges the inevitability of AI integration in business practices but expresses concerns about its potential to produce formulaic and generic responses. He emphasises the importance of ethical considerations and underscores the need for AI-generated content to be tailored to the unique requirements of each contract.

Stuart Harrison, Intend Associate:

Stuart's experience with AI tools for writing training materials highlights both the promise and limitations of AI-generated content. While it can provide comprehensive outputs, there's a risk of inaccuracies or fabricated information, as seen in the case of a quote attributed to a fictional source. This underscores the necessity of human oversight and verification when utilising AI in bid writing.

Mandy Millar, Intend Associate and Buyer/Evaluator:

Mandy emphasises the need for caution in leveraging AI for bid writing, noting its current limitations in generating specific and tailored content. As a buyer/evaluator she has seen responses that are very obviously AI generated and they have not scored well. This is because the answers are too generic and don’t say enough about the actual company or the contract for which they are bidding. The use of American spellings and phrases are a dead giveaway that AI has been used and whilst a bidder wouldn’t be marked down for using AI as such, it can demonstrate a lack of thought and authenticity. We are beginning to see some tenders ask whether AI has been used in the generation of responses, this is interesting because the question is for information only but there is a possibility a ‘yes’ response could influence scoring, even unintentionally. 

While AI can assist with structure and word count reduction, it's essential for users to supplement AI-generated content with authentic information from suppliers. Mandy also highlights the importance of becoming familiar with AI's capabilities and limitations to make informed decisions.

Anna Geier, Intend Associate:

Anna raises concerns about the cybersecurity risks associated with online AI tools, particularly in handling sensitive information. While acknowledging the potential benefits of AI in bid writing, she suggests that SMEs may be hesitant to invest in expensive AI software solutions due to budgetary constraints and security concerns.

In light of these insights, it's evident that while AI can offer valuable support in bid and tender writing processes, it's not without its risks. Here are some key considerations for organisations looking to leverage AI in this domain:

1. Be Clear What You Are Asking: AI is software and logical. It will answer the question you give it, so be very clear on what you want to ask it and be prepared to revise your questions depending on the answer it gives.
2. Ethical Use: Ensure that AI-generated content aligns with ethical standards and accurately represents the organisation's capabilities and offerings.
3. Verification and Oversight: Implement mechanisms for human oversight and verification to mitigate the risk of inaccuracies or generic responses.
4. Data Security: Exercise caution when using online AI tools, especially when handling sensitive or confidential information, to mitigate cybersecurity risks.
5. Balancing Automation with Human Expertise: Strike a balance between AI automation and human expertise to ensure that bid responses are tailored, specific, and effectively showcase the organisation's strengths.
6. Choose Your AI Tool Carefully: There are now at least 35 different free AI tools to help write or produce images and videos, that can be applied to bid and tender writing. When you choose one, be aware of its limitations as well as its strengths. It is also worth trying to understand what happens to the data you put into the AI tool. Many of the free (open) AI tools will save and use your data effectively putting your IP in the public domain.

By navigating these risks and leveraging AI judiciously, organisations can harness its potential to streamline bid and tender writing processes while maintaining integrity and authenticity in their submissions. As AI continues to evolve, ongoing vigilance and adaptation will be essential to maximise its benefits in the realm of bid and tender writing.

The final point would be to remember that the purpose of writing a bid or tender response is to convince an evaluator that your offering is the best for their need. Using AI may make that approach more efficient and complete, but ultimately it is the evaluator who decides not you. Make sure you answer their questions!