We’ve all felt it – that sudden whoosh of time that’s appeared in the bid and proposal process thanks to AI. All those hours once swallowed by formatting, chasing final updates to the content, deciphering evaluation criteria, or wrestling with version control? They’ve quietly slipped away. And now we’ve discovered something rather brilliant: teams are using that time not just to do more, but to do better.
Think of it like shifting along a spectrum – left a bit for capture, right a bit for pitching, and something exciting in that middle ground where we now have the breathing room to really add value.
Left a bit: Stronger capture, smarter choices
With AI taking the grind out of early content generation and analysis, teams finally have space to step upstream – to actually think! Imagine that! Now we’re spending more energy on understanding client drivers, shaping pursuit strategies, gathering sharper intel, and building win themes before the bid clock starts ticking.
This is the stuff that moves deals from “possible” to “probable,” and it’s strengthening because we’re no longer drowning in housekeeping tasks.
Right a bit: Pitching with presence (not panic!)
On the other end of the spectrum sits pitching and dialogue – usually the part squeezed because everyone’s still writing until the night before. But with AI streamlining draft responses and content refinement, we’re arriving at pitch stages prepared, polished, and with enough headspace to rehearse like we mean it.
Better preparation leads to better conversations, better connections, and yes – better outcomes.
And the bit in between: Elevating evaluation scores
Here’s where the magic happens. The newfound time means teams can actually craft, not just complete. Instead of settling for compliant answers, we’re interrogating evaluation criteria, refining differentiators, tailoring value propositions, and elevating scoring potential line by line.
It’s no longer about “getting it done” – it’s about “getting it brilliant.”
So here we are: left a bit, right a bit, and fabulously different in between.
AI hasn’t replaced the human heart of bidding – it’s just taken some of noise away. What’s left is the space to add real value…and that’s where we stand out.
Lorraine Baird
Lorraine specialises in helping organisations to win – evidenced by her personal win rate of over 85%. She’s recognised for equipping bid teams with the right skills and tools to produce winning proposals and pitches for their organisations. Formerly heading up the bid team at Aviva, Lorraine’s career in sales and bidding spans over 20 years. Lorraine is qualified at the highest level of certification in the profession – APMP Professional – and also recently attained the new APMP Capture Practitioner certification.
