Purchasing Guides / RFP & Questionnaire Response

RFP & Questionnaire Response

A guide to buying an AI workflow that drafts RFP and security questionnaire answers from your company documents, with sources attached and unanswered questions flagged for your team.

Yearly running cost

Assuming 240 questionnaires a year

By hand: $90K / year; 2,000 hours of work
Subscription: $10.8K+ / year
This workflow: $864 – 1.7K / year; Machine usage only; setup, hosting and review are extra.

Company sourcesWhere should the answers come from?

Use approved product documents, security policies and past answers. Get cited drafts and a list of questions your team needs to resolve.

Upload approved documentsUpload your sources and export answers for review$864 – 2,880 setupConnect my document librarySync approved sources and connect your review queue$1,440 – 4,800 setup

Your team approves the answers. Nothing is submitted to your customer automatically.

Files and connections

Guide prices assume your provider adapts a tested workflow using AI-assisted development, and you supply approved sources and test answers. Complex permissions or custom connections need a separate quote.

Uses approved uploaded sources and returns a workbook of cited drafts for review. No connection to your systems.

The estimate covers English XLSX or CSV questionnaires of up to 100 questions, using approved text or PDF sources. Scanned questionnaires, tender portals and complex document layouts need a separate scope.

Answer accuracyHow thoroughly should answers be checked?

Choose targets for supported facts and complete answers. Missing evidence should be flagged, not guessed.

Source-checked draftsCited answers with missing or conflicting information flagged.≥98% source-supported facts · ≥90% complete answersIncludedHigher verification targetsMore demanding checks on factual support and answer completeness.≥99.5% source-supported facts · ≥95% complete answersSetup +$432 – 1,440My own requirementsDescribe your acceptance targets in the notes below.Quote separately

How accuracy is measured

These are acceptance targets to test on your questionnaires, not measured results. Complete answers are counted only where your approved sources contain the information needed.

Targets for your selected checks
What is checked	Target
Facts supported by sourcesShare of verifiable factual claims in the drafts that a valid, authorised source supports.	≥98%
Citations that hold upShare of factual claims with a correct location, version and supporting evidence. Claims without a citation count against it.	≥98%
Answerable questions fully coveredShare of answerable questions whose draft covers every required sub-question without a material error, as marked by your experts.	≥90%
Accepted with light editsShare of all questions the expert accepts with light edits and no new facts. Unknown and conflicting questions stay in the denominator.	≥70%

Test on questionnaires not used to build the workflow. Check each factual claim against its source. Unknown answers, expired documents and conflicting information go to your team; your team reviews every answer during the pilot.

SpeedHow soon do you need the draft answers?

Choose a target for a questionnaire of up to 100 questions. Your team's review time is separate.

Within 15 minutesIncludedWithin 10 minutesSetup +$144 – 480Within 5 minutesSetup +$288 – 960

Timing details

Measured after your sources are indexed, including queueing, drafting, checks and workbook export. The target applies to at least 95% of test questionnaires, with 1 in progress at a time. Your provider confirms what is achievable on your hardware.

Running-cost targetHow much do you want to spend per questionnaire?

Select how much your AI workflow can spend drafting answers to up to 100 questions. This may affect how many checks and revisions it can run.

Up to $17.00IncludedUp to $10.00Setup +$144 – 480Up to $5.00Setup +$288 – 960

Cost details

Reference machine cost: $6.60 – 16.20 per questionnaire, at 20 questionnaires a month after indexing. Includes model calls and allocated hosting, not expert review or maintenance.

Your selection is a target, not a guaranteed charge. Lower costs and faster answers can require more setup work; the provider tests the combination against your accuracy requirements.

Your environmentWhere do you want it to run?

Choose where your documents are processed and whether an external AI model can read them.

Run it on AI model access

Data and access details

Documents, indexes and review records stay in your account. Whether any data leaves is decided by the model access option, not by where it runs.

Authorised questions and retrieved passages go to the agreed model provider. The guide running cost assumes this option.

Answers and citations must follow the same document permissions. Fully offline processing cannot sync an external library; use uploaded documents or agree an internal connection separately.

InterfaceHow do you want to use it?

Use your existing AI agent, a dedicated agent or a web page. You can choose more than one.

My existing AI agentUse MCP to send a questionnaire and retrieve the draft answers.Setup +$144 – 480A dedicated AI agentChat with an agent to upload questions and review its answers.Setup +$288 – 960A web pageUpload files, check sources and download the completed workbook.Included

Anything else your provider should know?

Optional. Add your volume, budget and any special requirements. We include your selections automatically.

Questionnaires per month Your setup budget (USD)

Your documents, review process or other requirements

Common questions

When should I buy my own workflow?

When your team repeatedly answers RFPs or security questionnaires and needs specific document permissions, exports or review steps. You need current company sources, sample questionnaires and someone who can approve the answers.

When is a subscription a better choice?

When an existing response platform already supports your documents, review process and security requirements. For occasional questionnaires, your current AI tools and manual review may be enough.

Can I ask for other formats or connections?

Yes. Add your requirements to the brief, such as another language, scanned documents, a tender portal or an internal knowledge base. Agree the scope and price with your provider before work starts.

What will my team still need to do?

Keep source documents current, resolve missing or conflicting information, and approve the final answers. Model or compute costs continue after setup; agree support and maintenance separately with your provider.