2026 has seen an increase in competitiveness for tenders and bids with many businesses using generative AI to quickly put together bids faster, and therefore, bidding for more opportunities. This higher competition is coupled with a strong focus on social value and ESG reporting from the public sector, and an increase in compliance requirements for all bids – small and large.
Although AI writing won’t replace a bid or tender writer, it would be naïve to think that it is of no assistance at all. If used correctly, it can help you efficiently develop a first draft and create initial drafts for supporting documentation.
Our team of bid and tender writers at The Tender Team has helped over 456 Australian businesses win new government contracts.
The changing ‘unwritten rules’ of tendering
There has been a significant shift into governments procuring based on a ‘Most Advantageous Tender’ approach across Australia with a strong, more formalised focus on intellectual capital, expertise and experience.
We have also recently seen a change in the unwritten rules of tendering especially in Sydney and Brisbane but also across Australia. Our team of bid writers here in Sydney have noticed a much greater focus on local tenders and locally based service providers. There is also a need to show that on a team level, i.e. your employees and large sub-contractors, they reside in Sydney and even on occasion, in the specific areas which you are bidding for.
This applies to cities and towns across Australia. We have also seen an increase in questions in both government and private sector RFPs and RFTs asking about local demographics and challenges. This is a real chance for businesses to demonstrate their deep localised understanding of the area and reference this, and any associated challenges relevant to their service in the bid.
How you can use AI to help you write a compelling response
At The Tender Team, we still believe in writing tenders from start to finish. However, along the way, there are a number of areas where AI and generative AI can be used for. The Tender Team four step framework to using AI in tenders and bids include:
- Requirement mapping. You can quickly create checklists based on RFP documentation for tenders and bids. Although once the checklist is created, we recommend reviewing it against the document to ensure AI hasn’t missed anything.
- Cross-checking your bid library. Most businesses have a bid library where you keep boilerplate content and case studies. When you write a new tender or bid, you may use the content in your bid library to develop a first draft. You may even program Claude to create your first draft based on your content. Either way, when you write new content, you can use AI to compare your existing boilerplate content and add any new content into your bid library in order to improve and update it.
- Spelling and grammar check. This was generally always available in Microsoft word, however, Ai can be more efficient and concise when conducting spelling and grammar checks.
- General research. This is where google gemini or another AI search can and will be helpful. We were recently writing a bid to a local Council in Perth and we needed to reference the Council plans and research what new building programs they had planned. Using AI mode in google search made this process faster and can significantly speed up your research for any bid or tender enabling you to add credibility and evidence to your bid.
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Alice Springs. The local legislation is different – bid or no bid decisions are critical.
It’s critical to check the legislation and government policies and procurement processes in the state and local Council area you are bidding. For example, the procurement process adopted by Alice Springs Council has a strong focus on local issues and indigenous participation. This is different to City of Sydney and Victoria with their VicBuy policies.
We recommend clients;
- Undertake a thorough bid/no bid process that focuses on government legislation and themes, and not simply the tender requirements and if you can comply.
- Heavily tailor your bid or tender to the local area which you will be providing the service.
- Use Ai to speed up the drafting process and allocate your additional time into tailoring your bid or tender to the specific opportunity.
- Provide evidence throughout your bid that is quantified and tangible.
A recent case study
We recently helped a Western Sydney based construction company bidding for a large federal government contract ($10M). We used AI to research the site and the potential challenges they would encounter in the construction process. We identified a number of schools nearby and other public goods and services. This was integrated into the methodology and we put forward a comprehensive logistics and operations plan which ensured there would be minimal impact on the school environment throughout the project. This included arranging deliveries of materials outside school hours and ensuring delivery trucks used specific routes.
This strengthened their bid and demonstrated that they had ‘thought through’ the project and all its implications.
Are you looking to win more tenders in 2026?
Talk to our team of bid writers about how we achieve our 90% + success rate by:
- Adopting a thorough bid / no bid process.
- Using AI where appropriate
- Reading between the lines to win.
Our Director, Jason Cooney, is available on 0410 448 770 or simply email our team at info@thetenderteam.com.au. We can help you write your tender and win more contracts. Our professional consultants help businesses from all industries such as health, construction, community services and defence.
