Selon Loopio’s 2025 RFP Response Trends report, 70% of organizations say responding to RFPs helps win more business. But over half also admit that the process is messy, repetitive, and often slows down sales momentum.
This may be unpleasant but it is the reality. RFPs are necessary to win, but they’re exhausting to execute. For sales teams already balancing pipeline meetings, client calls, and performance pressure, an RFP feels like a full-stop interruption. You drop everything, scramble to collect inputs, format responses, and try to hit a deadline that doesn’t care how many deals you’re juggling.
That’s where AI steps in not as a new trend that everyone is chasing but as a real solution of merit to the daily pain of proposal creation.
At Proposal.biz, we’re exploring how AI in RFP workflows is reshaping the future of proposal management. We’ll break down the result of our research on how it compares to human-led writing, explore leading AI tools in this space, cover the pros and cons of automation, and share how to effectively create proposals with AI while keeping your win rate and sanity intact.
The Bottleneck in Sales and the RFP Drain
To begin with, let’s get one thing clear, salespeople don’t hate RFPs because they don’t care. They hate RFPs because they don’t have time.
Sales cycles are already intense. Reaalllyyy intense. Add a complex RFP into the mix and suddenly reps are forced to stop everything to focus on formatting tables, hunting for pricing sheets, and rewriting the same company boilerplate for the fifth time this month.
The result? Burnout. Missed follow-ups. Slower deal velocity.
And that’s not even counting the cross-department chaos. You’re pinging legal, chasing down the product team, asking marketing for a visual. All of this, just to get a few paragraphs reviewed.
Familiar, right? Well, so surprises, you’re not alone. And if your team has ever rushed to submit a mediocre proposal just to meet a deadline, you’re already feeling the cost.
AI vs Human Proposal Writing: Why Hybrid Works Best
Humans bring nuance, tone, and empathy. We know how to connect value with client pain points. But we’re slow, forgetful, and inconsistent (especially when under pressure).
AI, on the other hand, is fast. It remembers everything. It never skips a section or forgets the right acronym(when fine-tuned properly). When powered by NLP in RFP tools, it can understand what’s being asked, scan your knowledge base, and suggest the most relevant response in seconds.
The best approach isn’t to choose between the two. It’s to let AI handle the heavy lifting—the first draft, the boilerplate, the data tables—so humans can bring the final 20%: the storytelling, the insight, the personal touch.
That’s how you create proposals with AI that don’t feel robotic, and also don’t eat up your week.
Recommended Tools: AI Agents Built for Proposal Workflows
There are proposal tools a dime a dozen in the market. But when we say that not all AI tools are made equal. We know it to be free because we have explored just about all of them in our quest for the perfect tool. While that perfect tool is still illusive, here are some standout platforms that go beyond surface-level automation and actually help you win more RFPs:
RFP AI Agent
Automates key steps like document review, compliance checks, and proposal drafting. Especially useful in consulting, IT, construction, and government contracting, this tool helps teams stay deadline-ready without missing the fine print.
Bluebash
Uses NLP in RFP responses to extract key details and match them with pre-approved answers. Bluebash learns from previous submissions and ensures proposals are both accurate and tailored. Ideal for teams that want high efficiency without sacrificing personalization.
Stack AI
A no-code orchestration tool that helps you build an intelligent assistant for RFP responses. It adapts to your tone, references internal knowledge, and generates content that’s actually aligned with your brand’s value.
Inventive AI
A centralized RFP response hub with smart collaboration, automated reminders, and project workflows. It’s all about speed and team coordination. Many users say they finish proposals in half the time and win more often.
DeepRFP
A proposal-first AI writer built specifically for RFP tasks. It outperforms generic models like ChatGPT by staying focused on the sales proposal writing context. Less fluff, more win-worthy substance.
AutoRFP.ai
Great for high-volume RFPs. This tool creates entire drafts based on your previous answers, learns from past submissions, and improves over time. It also supports compliance checks and real-time collaboration. (Yes, we know it doesn’t have an AI agent but we really like it)
Beam.ai
Beam’s agent handles compliance validation, document parsing, and response generation. What stands out is its ability to generate structured, client-focused responses while keeping workflows organized.
Arphie
With live data source integration (Google Drive, SharePoint), Arphie not only drafts RFPs but also shows source citations and confidence scores for transparency. Perfect for teams that care about audit trails and accuracy.
Pros and Cons of Using AI in RFP Response Management
Benefits
- Faster responses
AI gets your first draft out in minutes. No more staring at blank documents. - Higher consistency
Whether it’s your tone, facts, or brand messaging—AI keeps it all aligned. - Content recall at scale
Even if your best proposal writer leaves the team, AI remembers what worked. - Saves time for real sales work
Let your reps focus on pipeline, not on chasing formatting fixes. - Better collaboration
When everyone is aligned on content, reviewing becomes faster and cleaner.
Limitations
- May lack context or emotional intelligence
AI doesn’t always understand subtle positioning or why one story works better than another. - Risk of generic or templated tone
If not reviewed, your proposal may sound lifeless and less convincing. - Needs high-quality data to start with
Garbage in, garbage out. If your content library is weak, AI won’t save you. - Still needs human oversight
You’ll still need to review, tailor, and polish every draft.
How to Make AI Work for Your Sales Team
AI is a workflow enhancer. We have figured out how to create proposals with AI and still win deals. This is how we do it:
- Curate your content library
Store winning answers, tag them clearly, and keep them updated. - Set guidelines for tone and structure
Feed your tools clear examples so output stays consistent with your brand. - Use AI for the first 70%
Let it draft answers and format documents, then layer on insights manually. - Review and refine
Always have a sales leader or proposal manager do the final check. - Analyze wins and losses
Feed back successful content into your AI tools to keep improving.
How AI is Transforming RFI, RFQ, and RFP Management
AI is transforming the RFP process from a stressful, all-hands fire drill into a repeatable, strategic workflow. Teams that used to spend days building a single proposal are now creating multiple high-quality submissions in the same time frame.
But the real win isn’t just speed. It’s the ability to refocus your sales team’s time and energy on client engagement, deal strategy, and personalization—things AI can’t fully replicate.
If your team is drowning in RFPs, it’s time to step back and rethink how you work. With the right tools and workflows, you can create proposals with AI that are faster, more accurate, and still human where it counts.
We’re building something that takes this even further—an automated proposal system that doesn’t just help you write faster but helps you win smarter. Follow us on LinkedIn to stay in the loop.
Because writing proposals shouldn’t be the part of sales you dread the most.
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