Proposal Writer
An AI agent that reads the solicitation, plans the submission, and drafts the files you edit and submit.
The Proposal Writer is an artificial intelligence (AI) agent that builds your response to a government opportunity. It reads every document in the solicitation package and writes a plan for the submission. Then it drafts real Word and Excel files, fills the required forms, and checks the package against the solicitation. You review and edit the work, as you would with a teammate.
The Proposal Writer is part of the DATA + AI + Automations plan and the GovCloud plan. See Plans and pricing.
Coverage
The writer works on any opportunity in your pipeline:
- Federal contracts from SAM.gov and agency portals
- State, local, and education contracts
- Contracts that you import into CLEATUS
It builds what the notice asks for
The writer reads the notice type and the response type of each pursuit. Then it builds the response that the buyer asked for. The build card on the contract page and the pursuit page shows what the writer will build.
| Notice | Card | What the writer builds |
|---|---|---|
| Solicitation or request for proposal (RFP) | Build Proposal | A requirements document, the evaluation factors, a compliance matrix, a win strategy, a proposal outline, a gap analysis, and the volumes |
| Request for quote (RFQ) or invitation for bid (IFB) | Build Quote | A priced line-item schedule, the Government forms filled in, and a compliance matrix. A quote has no evaluation factors and no volumes. |
| Sources sought, presolicitation, or request for information (RFI) | Build Response | One capability response that answers the questions of the notice in their own order. A response has no compliance matrix. |
| Forecast | Build Plan | A capability statement and a capture plan. The writer does not invent a deadline or evaluation criteria. |
| Other notices | Build Response | The response that the notice calls for. If the notice asks for no submission, the writer tells you and stops. |
More rules for quotes:
- The writer never invents a price. A price that you did not give stays marked PENDING.
- For an IFB, the writer also checks the bid guarantee, the bid opening date, and the amendment acknowledgments.
- An RFQ that awards on a best-value tradeoff, or that asks for technical volumes, gets the full proposal treatment.
How to use it
1. Start from a pursuit
Open a pursuit in your pipeline and click Start Building on the build card. If the pursuit already has a proposal, the button says Continue Building. You can also open Proposals in the sidebar, click New proposal, and select a contract from your pipeline. If you start from a contract that is not in your pipeline, CLEATUS asks you to add it first.
2. Steer the first draft
The start screen shows the contract and what the writer will build. Before you generate, you can give the writer direction:
- Click Additional instructions to type your guidance, for example a page limit or a theme to stress.
- In the instructions box, click + to upload a file, attach a file from the Document Hub, or insert a saved skill.
- After you insert a saved skill, select Start every new proposal with this to make that skill the default for every new proposal in your company.
Click Generate Proposal. If the pursuit has no solicitation documents, a warning shows. Click Attach documents to add them, so the draft follows the real solicitation.
3. Follow the proposal plan
The writer reads the solicitation and builds a Proposal plan for that bid. The plan uses the steps that the bid needs, from this list:
- Review the solicitation
- Write the proposal
- Fill the required forms
- Prepare supporting docs
- Compliance check
- Format & assemble
Click a step to see suggested prompts for it. Click Draft all to send the prompts of that step in sequence. The steps check themselves off as the documents get drafted and the forms get filled.
4. Edit real files
The writer writes each volume as a Word document and fills each workbook cell by cell:
- Word documents and Excel workbooks open in an editor. Type in them as you would in Word or Excel. Your changes save automatically.
- PowerPoint decks show as a preview.
- Drop an image into a Word document. The image fits the page, and you can drag a handle to resize it.
- Upload a Portable Document Format (PDF) form and ask the writer to fill it. Blue boxes mark the fields. Edit a value or drag a box, then click Save.
5. Check and assemble the package
In the plan, open the Format & assemble step and click Assemble submission. The writer applies the formatting rules of the solicitation to each volume. Then it compares the package with the solicitation.
If a document is missing, an amber Missing proposal items line shows. Click it to open the Missing items tab. Each item shows why it is needed and the requirement it comes from. Fix the gap, then click Refresh submission. Click Download or Download all to save the package.
The review also checks the package against your compliance matrix. It confirms each open requirement in the matrix against the assembled files. Some requirements are tied to an evaluation factor, or to a "shall" or "must" instruction. When no file answers one of them, it holds the package. Other gaps show as Advisory findings. Advisory findings do not hold the package, but review them before you submit.
The writer also scans the package for leftover placeholder text, Word comments and tracked changes, and empty signature fields on forms. When the solicitation has amendments, it checks that the package acknowledges them.
Your part of the submission:
Package checks cover the files in the package. Portal steps and outside verifications are still yours to confirm.
Work as a team
- Live presence. The faces of the teammates who are in the proposal show in the header. Small avatars in the file tree show which document each teammate has open.
- Version history. Every file keeps its own versions. Click the clock icon in the header to preview an earlier version, then click Restore this version to put it back.
- Conversation threads. Click New chat to start a separate conversation in the same proposal. Use Recent chats to go back to an earlier thread. Your files stay the same when you switch threads.
- Clarifying questions. When a decision is yours, the writer asks a question above the message box instead of guessing.
- Company branding. Save your logo, Word letterhead, PDF brandsheet, and written brand guidelines once. New proposals and workspaces use them. When a solicitation sets its own fonts, margins, or page limits, the solicitation wins. See Setting Up Company Branding.
Workspaces
Every proposal opens in a workspace. The Workspaces page in the sidebar lists your proposals and your other workspaces. Use a standalone workspace for work that has no pursuit, for example a capability statement or a pricing worksheet. Click New workspace, describe the work or select a template, and the agent creates the files. See Using Workspaces.