AI Public Sector Tender Software: UK Notices and Rules
Public tender software must distinguish a chance to bid from a plan or an award. Establish the legal regime, actual deadline and evidence before trusting an AI summary.
Which ordinary value thresholds apply from January 2026?
Use the appropriate contract type and total estimated value including VAT.
For ordinary goods/services, £135,018 central and £207,720 sub-central are starting points, not all public-contract thresholds. PPN 023 gives the full table.
Who is buying
What is being bought
Estimated value, including options and extensions £80,000
£30k notice£208k threshold
Below the £207,720 threshold — a regulated below-threshold contract
From £30,000 the contract is notifiable: if the buyer advertises it, a below-threshold tender notice comes first, and its time limits must be reasonable and the same for everyone.Procurement Act 2023 s.87
If tenders are invited, the buyer may not shortlist on suitability — no pre-qualification on financial standing or technical ability.Procurement Act 2023 s.85(1)
Before inviting tenders, the buyer must have regard to the barriers small businesses face and consider reducing them.Procurement Act 2023 s.86
Invoices are payable within 30 days — a term implied into every regulated below-threshold contract.Procurement Act 2023 s.88
Not modelled: utilities, defence and security, concessions, schools, and Welsh devolved authorities, where different amounts or exemptions apply. The estimated value is the most the buyer could expect to pay, options and extensions included (Schedule 3); thresholds from Schedule 1 as amended from 1 January 2026. A guide to the Act, not legal advice.
What can RFP Quest help a public-sector bidder do?
Find notices and discuss possible fit from confirmed context, with consequential proposals reviewed on screen.
Evidence to decision
01
Search
Read Find a Tender and Contracts Finder notices in public.
Open the official record and check the buyer’s current instructions before responding.
What else should you know about AI public sector tender software?
Check these points before committing your team’s time.
What is AI public sector tender software?
It applies AI assistance to procurement work such as discovery or explaining possible fit. Test each product’s functions. RFP Quest provides public notice search and reviewed member context; it does not draft or submit the response.
Is it acceptable to use AI to write a public sector tender response?
Yes. Cabinet Office guidance for central government buyers says suppliers' use of AI "is not prohibited during the commercial process" (PPN 017). Buyers may add disclosure questions asking whether you used AI and whether the answers were checked for accuracy — for information only, not scored — and may do more due diligence on what you claim. You sign the declaration, so every fact is yours however the first draft was written.
What does PPN 017 ask suppliers?
Its example questions cover AI used to help prepare the tender, where it was used, verified accuracy, and AI in the proposed delivery. The buyer chooses its questions. Read Annex B.
Can AI software handle above-threshold UK government tenders?
Software may help find or organise a notice, but value does not prove capability or compliance. Use the contract type and buyer to identify the correct threshold, then test the tool against the actual documents.
What changed for suppliers under the Procurement Act 2023 in 2026?
New thresholds from 1 January 2026, and three more sections in force (S.I. 2025/1316): from 1 January, payments compliance notices (s.69) and the assessment of contract performance (s.71); from 1 April, publication of every payment over £30,000 under a public contract (s.70). Welsh procurements differ on ss.69–70.
Do I need to register on the Central Digital Platform to bid?
In practice, yes — do it before you need it. The Cabinet Office's registration guide treats three steps as what makes a supplier "bid ready": register your organisation on Find a Tender with a GOV.UK One Login, enter your details, and make your declarations; you then share them with a buyer by a share code. For a notifiable below-threshold contract the buyer must also have your unique identifier before it awards you the contract (central digital platform guidance, para 74).
How does AI handle mandatory pass/fail criteria?
Require the tool to quote the stated requirement and its source, then have the team check the pack. Conditions of participation, scored questions and contract obligations must remain distinct.
Does AI tender software work for NHS contracts?
Check the service and authority first: relevant healthcare services commissioned by relevant authorities in England can fall under the PSR. Other NHS purchases can use wider procurement rules; mixed procurements need particular care. NHS England guidance.
How much social value weighting should a public sector bid expect?
Read the actual award criteria and applicable buyer policy. PPN 002 sets a minimum 10% social-value weighting for in-scope central government procurements; that is not a universal rule for every public buyer or contract.
Which portals does RFP Quest actually cover?
Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. Public Contracts Scotland, Sell2Wales and eTendersNI are not ingested; use them and the buyer’s submission portal separately where needed.
Where can you check the evidence?
Read the primary publication and the buyer’s current documents before acting.
