By Brian Giblin and Peyton Holifield

It is crucial to efficiently identify new opportunities and respond to Requests for Proposals (RFPs). This daunting task requires quick turnaround times, limited resources, and absolute compliance.

As the old engineering adage goes, “You can have low cost, high quality, or speed—pick any two.” However, for Capture Managers and Proposal Managers, hitting all three is not just a goal but a necessity.

Along came Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), which promise to revolutionize the proposal process by delivering on all fronts and even granting you some precious free time to spend with family.

But does reality live up to the promise? How can you ensure you select the right AI tool for your organization?

At Procurement Sciences, we aim to provide you with the critical questions needed to make an informed decision. While we won’t choose for you, we will provide the guidance necessary to evaluate your options effectively, ensuring that your choice aligns with your strategic goals and operational needs – positioning your company to win more contracts!

Choosing an AI Proposal Solution: Key Questions Summary

	Questions to Ask	The Procurement Sciences Way	Why it Matters
1	If my competitors and I use your tool, will we both have the same proposal response?	Awarded.AI leverages your past performances and capabilities to draft credible and compelling proposals unique to your organization.	Generic proposal responses lack credibility and don’t win. You need a solution that drafts proposals about your past performances and capabilities to convey that you will succeed again.
2	Will the AI Provider use my content, prompts, and interactions to train its LLM?	We do NOT allow the LLMs to train on your documents, prompts, and interactions.	If the LLM learns from your data, it could be shared with other companies through generated responses. You could lose your intellectual property and competitive advantage.
3	How many dedicated, full-time (W-2) support people do you have?	We have 12 full-time (W-2) dedicated support employees to answer your questions – average response time <3 minutes.	If your team does not have the proper resources to become proficient using a GenAI tool, it will be hard to promote adoption and gain full efficiencies across your organization. With the PSci Support team, you are positioned to win!
4	What support do you provide if I have Technical or Functional questions?	Support to resolve technical or functional issues with Awarded.AI is included at no additional charge. The CSM team also provides a defined onboarding course followed by unlimited, ongoing training sessions, which are available upon request.	Proper onboarding and training are crucial to driving adoption and maximizing efficiencies. Issues may arise, but readily available support allows you to move past them so you can deliver on time quickly. Training and Support promote usage, shorten the adoption timeframe, and give a rapid ROI.
5	Does the tool support the broad range of tasks that comprise GovCon capture and proposal processes?	Awarded.ai adapts to your proposal process—not the other way around. Our solution isn’t limited to proposals but also adapts to your other daily tasks.	Our solution enables you to leverage AI for proposal writing and all the tasks associated with capture and proposal management. This saves you time and maximizes your ROI.
6	Tell me about the background and experience of your leadership and personnel.	Our leadership and staff are composed of seasoned professionals with over 350 years of combined experience in government contracting.	If the AI solution provider is only an AI expert, you will spend much time explaining what you are trying to do and why; sorry, you don’t have that kind of time. Plus, they may give you an answer that “works” from a software point of view, but it might not be compliant.
7	Do you do any Government Contract work yourself?	PSci does not bid, nor do we have any Government Contracts.	If they do Government work, they are a competitor. You don’t need a competitor to access your proposal strategies, processes, and responses—and definitely not your rates!
8	How many Government Contractors are using your solution today?	We have over 275 organizations using our solution today.	You need a solution that has been proven effective across many organizations to ensure it is robust enough to meet your needs.
9	Was your system built as an AI-first solution, or was AI added to an existing solution?	Awarded.AI was built from the ground up as an AI solution to meet the needs of Government Contractors.	When slapping AI onto an existing platform, compromises are made, leading to inefficiencies, which lowers the provider’s investment and your ROI.
10	Is your solution focused on Government Contractors, or is it generic?	Government Contractors built Awarded.AI for Government Contractors. PSci boasts over 350 years of combined GovCon experience.	Government Contracting has industry-specific requirements—a generic solution will not work. It takes industry knowledge to understand that and deliver a solution that delivers value.

Why Choosing the Right AI Proposal Solution Matters

Navigating the complexities of government contracting requires tools that can deliver precision, efficiency, and compliance. As AI and LLMs transform the landscape, selecting the right AI proposal solution can position you to achieve your strategic growth goals. By asking the right questions, you can ensure that the tool you choose aligns with your organization’s unique needs, enhances your proposal processes, and protects your proprietary information.

Awarded.AI, with its AI-first design and focus on government contractors, demonstrates how tailored solutions can provide a competitive edge. It offers robust support, purpose-built prompts, assistants, flexibility, and security, empowering you to meet the demands of government contracting with confidence and success.

As you explore your options, remember that the right AI tool is not just a technological investment but a strategic partner in your journey to winning contracts and driving growth.

Discuss each question and answer below.

1. If my competitor and I use your tool, will we have the same proposal response?

PSci Way: 

Even if both you and your competitor use Awarded.AI, the proposal responses for each of you will be distinctly different. Awarded.AI is designed to craft your proposals uniquely by leveraging your specific company information, past performances, and capabilities. It integrates your unique win themes, strategies, and methodologies by drawing from your historical proposals, past performances, contracts, competitive intelligence, and customer insights to generate a tailored draft. You collaborate with the tool to refine this draft, ensuring a compelling, credible, and winning proposal that truly reflects your organization’s unique strengths.

Why it matters: 

In the competitive government contracting landscape, generic proposal responses lack the persuasive power to secure contract wins. They fail to resonate with evaluators looking for evidence of reliability and success. A tailored proposal, on the other hand, underscores your unique strengths and showcases your proven track record. By leveraging your past performances and capabilities, you enhance your credibility and demonstrate your readiness to deliver successful outcomes again. This personalized approach not only differentiates your proposal from the competition but also builds trust with potential clients, increasing your chances of winning contracts and fostering long-term partnerships.

2. Will the AI Provider use my content, prompts, and interactions to train its LLM? Will my information ultimately help my competitors?

PSci Way:

When utilizing Awarded.AI, you can be confident that your data remains your data. Our platform is designed to leverage your documents and prompts to create customized, highly relevant proposals without compromising your proprietary information. But unlike many generic, commercially available AI solutions, Awarded.AI ensures that your data is not used to train the large language models (LLMs). This is achieved through our robust enterprise agreements with leading LLM providers, guaranteeing that your data is neither accessed nor used for training purposes. This commitment to data security means your technical expertise, methodologies, and customer insights are protected from any external threats, safeguarding your competitive advantage.

Why It Matters:

Maintaining a strategic edge is crucial in today’s competitive landscape. The risk of inadvertently sharing proprietary information with competitors is a genuine concern when using AI tools that learn from user data. Procurement Sciences gives you affirmative control over your data, ensuring that your innovative strategies and proprietary content remain confidential and exclusive to your organization. This provides peace of mind and secures your position in the market by protecting your proprietary methodologies, technologies, and insights.

Furthermore, publicly available AI tools can inadvertently lead to public disclosure of confidential information, potentially eroding your long-term competitive advantage. By choosing Awarded.AI, you are investing in a powerful AI-driven tool that enhances your proposal processes while protecting the integrity and exclusivity of your valuable information. This strategic investment ensures that your data serves your success alone, empowering your organization to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

3. How many dedicated, full-time (W-2) support people do you have?

PSci Way:

At Awarded.AI, we pride ourselves on delivering exceptional customer support through our team of 12 dedicated, full-time (W-2) support professionals. Each team member is fully committed to ensuring you get the most out of our platform and deliver quality proposals on time. Our support team is not only highly trained on Awarded.AI but also deeply knowledgeable about the unique needs of government contractors, allowing them to provide insightful and tailored assistance.

What truly sets our support apart is our rapid response time. With an average response time of less than three minutes, we ensure that your inquiries are addressed promptly, minimizing work delays and keeping your operations running smoothly. This level of commitment reflects our dedication to your success and satisfaction, providing you with the confidence that expert help is always just a moment away.

Why It Matters:

In the fast-paced world of government contracting, time is of the essence, and having a dedicated support team with an average response time of less than three minutes ensures that any issues or questions are resolved swiftly. This rapid response minimizes disruptions to your workflow, allowing you to focus on what truly matters—winning contracts.

Our team of 12 full-time professionals is well-versed in the specific challenges and nuances of the GovCon industry, providing expert guidance tailored to your unique needs. This level of expertise ensures that you receive not just generic support but relevant and effective solutions for your specific context. Moreover, fast and effective support serves as a significant competitive advantage, enabling you to maintain momentum and complete more winning proposals in less time. With the PSci Support team, you are positioned to win!

4. What support do you provide if I have Technical or Functional questions?

PSci Way: 

At Procurement Sciences, we understand the unique challenges and demands of the government contracting sector. That’s why we have built a highly trained support team and armed them with powerful technology tools—available to you at no additional charge.

Awarded.AI has an Intercom built-in, allowing you to contact our Customer Success team members for direct support. All Customer Success team members have Intercom on their computers and phones, guaranteeing a quick response. Everyone on our team has GovCon experience, and we understand that working in GovCon often demands late nights, early mornings, weekends, and holidays.

In addition to real-time support, we have developed a structured onboarding process tailored to address the most common technical and functional questions so that you quickly become proficient with our AI solution. This proactive approach accelerates the adoption of Awarded.AI, empowering you to leverage the platform’s full capabilities swiftly and effectively. Our goal is to ensure you have the tools and support you need to succeed in the fast-paced world of government contracting.

Why It Matters:

Generative AI is relatively new for everyone and constantly evolving. Our goal is to drive efficiencies for GovCons as much as possible, and training and support are vital in ensuring that our customers get the most from our platform. Our approach to support is deliberate; Onboarding promotes adopting our platform quickly, continuous training promotes maximizing efficiencies using our platform, and ongoing support promotes consistency and reliability from our platform and our team. Training and Support promote usage, shorten the adoption timeframe, and deliver a rapid ROI.

5. Does the tool support the broad range of tasks that comprise GovCon capture and proposal processes?

PSci Way: 

Awarded.ai is designed to respond to and support the broad range of tasks that comprise the Capture and Proposal processes. Recognizing the unique demands of the GovCon landscape, our platform offers a robust suite of over 300 specialized prompts and custom assistants; each fine-tuned to align with the intricate workflows of government contractors. These tools are readily accessible to all our clients, ensuring they have the resources to manage every aspect of their capture and proposal efforts efficiently.

Our commitment to continuous improvement means constantly expanding our library of prompts and assistants guided by valuable user feedback. This ensures our solutions remain relevant and practical, adapting to the industry’s evolving needs. Beyond the initial onboarding, clients benefit from unlimited access to a dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM) who provides personalized support. This includes helping customize and refine prompts and assistants to fit each organization’s requirements and strategies better.

By leveraging Awarded.ai, you gain a strategic partner that understands the complexities of the GovCon capture and proposal processes and empowers you with the tools and support needed to excel. Whether you’re drafting proposals, managing compliance, or tracking opportunities, Awarded.ai stands ready to enhance your operational efficiency and drive success in the competitive government contracting arena.

Awarded.ai is designed to extend its capabilities beyond mere proposal generation, recognizing the multiple tasks that comprise your role in government contracting. Your job involves numerous “additional duties,” and Awarded.ai is equipped to assist you with them all. For instance, the platform can reformat resumes to align with your company’s specific format, generate monthly reports tailored to your organizational standards, and handle endless tasks that might otherwise consume your valuable time. This versatility ensures you can streamline your workflow and focus on strategic priorities.

To guarantee that you fully harness the potential of Awarded.ai, we offer unlimited support for configuring our tools to your precise needs. Our dedicated team can help you modify existing prompts and assistants and create custom solutions that seamlessly integrate with your existing processes. This personalized approach enhances your operations’ efficiency and maximizes your return on investment, ensuring that Awarded.ai becomes an indispensable asset in your government contracting toolkit.

Why It Matters:

Your proposal team should focus on crafting winning proposals rather than mastering the complexities of prompt engineering. With access to hundreds of prewritten and rigorously tested prompts and assistants, your team can immediately harness the power of Awarded.A and see its value from day one. These tools are specifically designed for government contractors, enabling you to efficiently identify and respond to government opportunities, thereby delivering a swift return on investment.

Moreover, Awarded.AI provides unmatched adaptability with fully customizable tools, prompts, and assistants. This flexibility allows you to tailor the platform to your specific needs, leveraging AI for every capture and proposal management task. By doing so, you maximize efficiencies and enhance your win rate, ensuring that your investment in Awarded.AI translates into tangible success and growth. Our solution enables you to leverage AI for proposal writing and all the tasks associated with capture and proposal management. This maximizes your return on investment by ensuring you gain efficiencies while increasing your win rate.

6. Tell me about the background and experience of your leadership and personnel.

PSci Way:

At Procurement Sciences, the strength of our team is the foundation of our success. Our leadership and staff comprise seasoned professionals with over 350 years of combined experience in government contracting (GovCon), spanning roles from the C-Suite to Proposal Writers and Business Development Managers. This wealth of experience equips us with unparalleled insights and strategies deeply rooted in hands-on industry knowledge and a profound understanding of the complexities of government procurement.

We are committed to building a team that understands the intricacies of the GovCon landscape and excels at leveraging advanced technologies. To this end, we strategically hire experienced Proposal Writers and Business Development professionals to join our Customer Success team. These individuals bring expertise in crafting compelling proposals and driving business growth. Once onboard, they undergo comprehensive training in AI and our proprietary Awarded.AI solution, ensuring they are fully prepared to deliver exceptional value to our clients.

Our approach is not just about filling roles; it’s about cultivating a team that embodies our mantra, “Built by government contractors for government contractors.” This philosophy ensures that every team member is proficient in their field and deeply committed to understanding and addressing the unique challenges faced by our clients. By combining industry expertise with cutting-edge AI training, we empower our personnel to support our clients in achieving their goals with precision and confidence.

Experience the difference a dedicated and knowledgeable team can make with Procurement Sciences. Our commitment to excellence and partnership ensures that we are always ready to meet your needs and help you succeed in the competitive GovCon environment.

Why it matters:

Our focus on hiring and training the right people reflects our commitment to client success. By investing in a team that is both knowledgeable and dedicated to continuous improvement, we give our clients the confidence that they are partnering with an organization that prioritizes their goals and challenges. Training our team in AI and our Awarded.AI solution allows us to blend cutting-edge technology with human expertise. This integration ensures that our clients benefit from the most advanced tools available, supported by professionals who understand how to apply these tools effectively to drive success.

By hiring professionals with a proposal writing and business development background, we ensure that our Customer Success team has the skills necessary to craft proposals that resonate with government agencies. This tailored approach enhances the likelihood of you winning more contracts. In a field where the competition is fierce, having a team that combines deep industry knowledge with advanced AI capabilities gives our clients a significant competitive edge. This advantage is critical for navigating the complexities of government contracting and achieving sustainable growth.

7. Do you do any Government Contract work yourself?

PSci Way: 

No.

At Procurement Sciences, we prioritize transparency and integrity in our operations, which is why we do not bid for government contracts ourselves. While our team members possess extensive experience in the government contracting arena, enabling us to understand the industry’s intricacies and demands, our company remains solely focused on empowering our clients rather than competing with them.

Our commitment is to support and enhance your success in the government contracting space. We provide you with innovative tools and unparalleled expertise while maintaining a clear boundary between our role as a service provider and your position as a market competitor. This approach safeguards your proprietary information and reinforces our dedication to being a trusted partner in your government contracting endeavors.

Why It Matters: 

This distinction is crucial for our clients’ peace of mind. Sharing information with a potential competitor can pose a significant risk in the government contracting sector, where proprietary processes and solutions are critical competitive advantages. By ensuring that we do not participate in government contract bidding, we eliminate any potential conflict of interest, allowing you to leverage our Awarded.AI platform confidently without concern. You don’t need a competitor to have access to your proposal strategies, processes, and responses—and definitely not your rates!

8. How many organizations are using your solution today?

PSci Way: 

Awarded.AI currently empowers over 275 companies with thousands of individual users who rely on our innovative platform daily to enhance their government contracting processes. This widespread adoption is a testament to the effectiveness and value that Awarded.AI brings to the table. Our community of users spans a diverse range of sectors within the government contracting industry, each leveraging our tools to streamline proposal development, increase efficiency, and gain a competitive edge.

What truly sets Awarded.AI apart is our commitment to continuous improvement driven by user feedback. Our users are integral to our development process; their insights and experiences directly inform our product roadmap. By actively engaging with our community, we ensure that Awarded.AI evolves to meet the dynamic needs of the industry, incorporating the latest advancements in technology and addressing the specific challenges faced by our users.

Why It Matters:

This collaborative approach enhances our solution and fosters a vibrant ecosystem where users benefit from cutting-edge capabilities and best practices. By choosing Awarded.AI, you’re joining a thriving community dedicated to innovation and excellence in government contracting, backed by a constantly refined platform to deliver unparalleled performance and results.

9. Was your system built as an AI-first solution, or was AI added to an existing solution?

PSci Way:

Awarded.AI was built from the ground up as an AI-first solution purposefully designed to address the unique challenges faced by government contractors. Unlike platforms that retroactively integrate AI into existing frameworks, Awarded.AI was conceived with artificial intelligence at its core. This foundational approach ensures that every feature, tool, and function is optimized to leverage the full power of AI, delivering unmatched efficiency and effectiveness in proposal development.

Our commitment to an AI-first design means that Awarded.AI is not just a tool but a transformative platform that revolutionizes how government contractors approach business development, capture, and proposal processes. By building with AI from the outset, we provide a solution that is not only innovative but also profoundly aligned with the industry’s dynamic needs, ensuring our users are always a step ahead in the competitive contracting landscape.

Why it matters:

When slapping AI onto an existing platform, compromises are made, leading to inefficiencies. This leads to a lower investment for the provider but a lower ROI for you. Awarded.AI is designed as an AI-first solution, ensuring every component is optimized to utilize AI capabilities fully. This results in faster, more accurate, and more effective proposal development, saving you time and increasing your win rate.

The AI-first architecture allows the platform to seamlessly integrate advanced AI functionalities, providing intuitive and user-friendly experiences that enhance productivity without the friction often encountered in retrofitted systems. Building from the ground up with AI also means that Awarded.AI is inherently adaptable to future advancements in AI technology. This ensures that the platform remains cutting-edge and continues to offer innovative solutions as AI evolves. By leveraging AI at its core, Awarded.AI empowers users with strategic insights and capabilities that are impossible with traditional or retrofitted systems, enabling them to respond to RFPs with greater precision and confidence.

10. Is your solution focused on Government Contractors, or is it a generic solution?

PSci Way:

Awarded.AI is a purpose-built platform explicitly crafted for government contractors by experts who have walked in your shoes. With over 350 years of combined experience in the government contracting (GovCon) sector, our team understands the intricate nuances and challenges unique to this industry. This rich expertise is woven into the very fabric of Awarded.AI, ensuring that every feature and tool is tailored to meet the precise needs of government contractors.

Unlike generic solutions that attempt to serve a broad audience, Awarded.AI is deeply rooted in the GovCon ecosystem, offering specialized functionalities that address the complexities of government procurement processes. Our platform is designed to enhance your business development, capture, and proposal efforts, empowering you to navigate the competitive landscape with confidence and precision.

Why it matters: 

A solution specifically focused on government contractors means you benefit from insights and tools directly relevant to your work. Awarded.AI is not just another software; it’s a strategic ally in your contracting endeavors, providing you with the competitive advantage needed to succeed in a highly specialized market. By choosing a platform built by those who genuinely understand the GovCon world, you ensure your team has the best resources to win contracts and drive growth.