Do AI bid-writers actually work for public sector bidding?

AI bid-writing tools can be effective for UK public sector bidding, but only when used to support human-led bid teams. On their own, they rarely produce competitive, compliant responses for complex UK government tenders.

This blog outlines best practices for suppliers seeking to integrate AI into their bid-writing processes, explaining where AI genuinely adds value, where it introduces risk, and how it can be used compliantly within UK public procurement rules.

What do people mean by “AI bid-writers”?

In practice, most "AI bid-writers" are not autonomous systems that can write and submit compliant bids end-to-end.

They are typically one or more of the following:

• Large language models (LLMs) generating answers from prompts

• Tools that summarise prior bids of policies

• Systems that rephrase content to sound more "polished"

• Content assistants embedded into bid management platforms

AI bid writers function primarily as productivity aids, helping teams move faster through competitive or time-consuming parts of the bid process. 

However, they are not a substitute for deep buyer research, competitor intelligence, or a deliberate, targeted approach to public sector bidding. Those activities still depend on access to reliable market intelligence, an understanding of buyer behaviour, and informed strategic judgement - areas where AI tools can support analysis, but not define direction.

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How can AI bid-writing tools help?

When used successfully, AI bid-writing tools can improve efficiency, particularly for teams with limited resources.

Common areas where they add value include:

• Producing first-pass drafts from structured notes or outlines

• Rewriting content to improve clarity, tone, and internal consistency

• Summarising background material, policies, or technical documentation

• Reducing repetitive administrative work across multiple bids

• Supporting standardisation where similar questions recur across tenders

In these use cases, AI helps teams move faster and maintain a baseline level of quality - especially across high volumes of submissions.

Is using AI allowed in UK public sector bid-writing?

There is no prohibition on using AI to support bid-writing in the UK.

In fact, the Cabinet Office's own PPN 02/24 acknowledges that suppliers will be increasingly using AI to help write their tender submissions.

But using AI for bid-writing is not risk free.

Suppliers remain fully responsible for:

• accuracy of claims

• compliance with tender requirements

• data protection and confidentiality

• intellectual property

So if AI introduces:

• fabricated evidence

• unverifiable claims

• sensitive content

the liability sits with the supplier - not the tool.

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What are the risks with AI bid-writing tools?

The risks in using AI bid-writing tools are not technical, but behavioural. AI optimises for fluent, average language, which can reduce differentiation and specificity - both critical in scored public sector evaluations.

It can also generate confident-sounding but weakly evidenced claims and subtly drift out of compliance with word limits or question structure.

Most importantly, by reducing drafting effort, AI can incentivise suppliers to pursue more opportunities with less discipline. In practice, targeted bidding grounded in deep buyer insight and market intelligence consistently outperforms high bid volumes.

What is considered best practice for using AI bid-writing tools?

Best practice is controlled and selective use. Suppliers who see value in AI use it to support a disciplined and data-driven bid process, rather than replacing judgment.

In practice, this means:

• Constraining prompts tightly to the question, evaluation criteria, and required evidence

• Treating outputs as raw content, not final answers

• Maintaining clear data and compliance controls

Used this way, AI can help with consistency and efficiency without weakening differentiation or risking non-compliance.

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How is the public sector responding?

Public sector organisations do not penalise suppliers suspected of using AI in the bidding process.

Bids continue to be assessed on relevance, evidence, risk and deliverability - AI-generated content does not affect scoring, and fluent writing alone does not improve outcomes. 

However, in March 2024, the Cabinet Office introduced PPN02/24, which permits in-scope contracting authorities (namely, Central Government bodies, their Executive Agencies & ALBs) to ask, during the bidding process, whether AI or machine learning tools were used to assist in a given tender submission.

If you're bidding on Central Government opportunities, you should be prepared for, and feel comfortable, answering this question.

The PPN also instructs procurement teams to anticipate higher bid volumes, and to apply enhanced due diligence to address the risks posed by AI-generated tender responses, including factual inaccuracies and fabricated claims.

When AI bid-writers make sense - and when they don’t

AI bid-writers make sense when:

• Capacity is constrained

• Questions are descriptive rather than evidential

• The team already understands what a strong bid looks like

They may not make sense when:

• Bids are complex or high-risk

• Differentiation is critical

• Compliance margins are tight

• (If bidding on a Central Government tender) You don't want to be asked whether you're using AI

In those cases, AI risks amplifying weaknesses rather than fixing them.

Whether you decide to experiment with AI bid-writers or not, knowing when to bid - and when not to - is key to saving your team time and setting yourself up for success.

Speak to our sales team to learn how Tussell's public sector market intelligence platform can help you spot opportunities early, make informed bid/no bid decisions, find the right frameworks, and do more business with the public sector.

FAQs

Can procurement teams detect AI-written bids?

Whilst procurement teams cannot reliably detect AI usage, they are entitled to ask whether AI was used in a bid submission. They can also recognise generic, formulaic responses, which AI may produce.

Will using AI hurt my chances of winning a contract?

It can - whilst contracting authorities do not consider whether AI was used in the tender writing process in scoring, AI usage can reduce specificity, evidence quality and compliance.

Do AI-written bids score worse?

AI-written bids risk scoring poorly and can even face disqualification due to generic responses and possible hallucinations. To mitigate risks, teams using AI bid-writers should treat AI as a tool rather than a replacement for human expertise.

Can AI bid-writing tools help SMEs compete with larger firms?

AI can improve efficiency, enabling smaller bid teams to draft responses more quickly. However, it does not compensate for poor bid selection. SMEs that use AI to increase bid volume rarely perform better; those that use market intelligence to target the right opportunities do.