Quick answer: AI tender scoring uses a large language model to read each contract notice and score its relevance to your specific business on a scale of 1-10. Unlike keyword search — which only finds tenders containing your exact words — AI scoring understands context and semantics, finding relevant contracts even when buyers use different terminology to describe what you do.
The problem AI scoring solves
UK procurement portals publish hundreds of contract notices every day across Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland, and Sell2Wales. Even with keyword alerts, a supplier in any competitive sector will receive dozens of notices daily — far too many to read individually.
Traditional keyword search has two fundamental problems. First, it misses relevant contracts where the buyer has used different terminology. A cybersecurity company searching for "cybersecurity" will miss tenders titled "Information Assurance Services", "Protective Monitoring", or "SOC as a Service" — all of which could be highly relevant. Second, keyword search produces false positives — contracts that contain your keywords but are not actually relevant to your business.
How AI tender scoring works
Build your business profile
You describe your business — what you do, which sectors you work in, what types of contracts you typically win. The more specific and accurate your profile, the more relevant your scores. PSIP uses your business description, sector selections, and keywords to build a complete picture of your capabilities.
AI reads each tender notice
When you run a search or when your alerts match new tenders, PSIP sends the tender data — title, description, buyer, estimated value, and CPV codes — to the Claude AI model along with your business profile.
Relevance assessment
Claude analyses how well the tender matches your profile. It considers: Is this in your sector? Does the scope match your capabilities? Is the contract value in your typical range? Are there any red flags suggesting you would not qualify? Is the buyer the type of organisation you typically work with?
Score and reasoning
Claude returns a score from 1 to 10 and a reasoning statement explaining the assessment. A score of 9 might read: "This IT managed services contract for an NHS Trust directly matches your managed services capability and public sector healthcare experience. Contract value and scope align well with your profile." A score of 3 might note: "While this is an IT contract, the specific requirement for physical data centre infrastructure falls outside your described software-only capability."
Prioritise your pipeline
Your search results and alerts are sorted by AI score — highest relevance first. You can immediately focus your attention on the 8-10 scored opportunities and dismiss the lower-scored ones with confidence, dramatically reducing the time spent reviewing irrelevant notices.
AI scoring vs keyword search — a practical example
🔍 Keyword search for "cybersecurity"
Finds tenders containing the word "cybersecurity". Misses:
- ✗Information Assurance Services
- ✗Protective Monitoring SOC
- ✗Cyber Resilience Programme
- ✗SIEM Implementation
- ✗Security Operations Centre
- ✗Penetration Testing Services
🤖 AI scoring for a cybersecurity firm
Finds and scores all relevant contracts including:
- ✓Information Assurance Services ✓
- ✓Protective Monitoring SOC ✓
- ✓Cyber Resilience Programme ✓
- ✓SIEM Implementation ✓
- ✓Security Operations Centre ✓
- ✓Penetration Testing Services ✓
Using AI scores for bid/no-bid decisions
AI relevance scores are a powerful first filter for bid/no-bid decisions. Here is how to use them:
Strong match with your profile. Read the full tender documents immediately. These are your highest-priority opportunities.
Partial match. Read the specification to assess whether the AI has identified a genuine opportunity or a borderline case. Some will be excellent fits, others will not.
Weak match. You can typically dismiss these quickly, though it is worth scanning the AI's reasoning to confirm.
How to get the most accurate scores
The quality of your AI scores depends entirely on the quality of your business profile. Here is how to optimise it:
- ✓Write a specific, detailed business description — 2-4 sentences describing exactly what you do, for whom, and at what scale
- ✓Include the types of contracts you typically win — not just what you do, but the procurement categories you target
- ✓List your sector focus — public sector health, local government, central government, defence, education etc.
- ✓Add specific keywords that buyers use to describe your services — include synonyms and alternative terminology
- ✓Update your profile when your capabilities change — AI scores are only as current as your profile
AI scoring for bid agencies and consultants
For bid agencies and procurement consultants managing multiple clients, PSIP's workspace feature allows you to create separate profiles for each client. When you switch to a client workspace, AI scoring automatically uses that client's business profile — so every search and alert is scored against the right context.
This means a bid agency can manage 10 clients simultaneously, with each client seeing only the most relevant opportunities for their specific business — without the agency needing to manually filter results for each one.
Frequently asked questions
What is AI tender scoring?
AI tender scoring is the use of artificial intelligence to automatically assess the relevance of public sector contract opportunities to a specific supplier. Each tender is scored — typically on a scale of 1-10 — based on how well it matches the supplier's business profile, capabilities, and target sectors. This allows suppliers to quickly identify the most relevant opportunities from hundreds of daily notices.
How does AI tender scoring work?
AI tender scoring typically uses a large language model (LLM) to read the tender notice — title, description, buyer, CPV codes, and value — and compare it against the supplier's business description, sector focus, and keywords. The AI scores the match and provides a reasoning statement explaining why the tender is or is not relevant.
Is AI tender scoring accurate?
Modern AI tender scoring using large language models is significantly more accurate than keyword matching alone. The AI understands context — it can recognise that a "digital transformation programme" tender is relevant to a software development company even if the words "software" or "development" do not appear in the title. Accuracy improves further when the supplier's business profile is detailed and specific.
How is AI scoring different from keyword search?
Keyword search finds tenders containing specific words. AI scoring assesses semantic relevance — understanding what a tender is actually about and how well it matches a supplier's capabilities, regardless of exact wording. A tender titled "Digital Delivery Programme" may score highly for a software developer even though neither "software" nor "developer" appears in the title.
What information does AI use to score tenders?
PSIP's AI scoring uses the tender title, description, contracting authority, estimated value, and CPV codes — compared against the supplier's business description, sector focus, and keywords stored in their business profile. The more detailed and accurate the business profile, the more relevant the scores.
Can AI scoring be used for bid/no-bid decisions?
AI relevance scoring is an excellent first filter for bid/no-bid decisions. Tenders scoring 8-10 are strong candidates for further investigation. Tenders scoring 1-4 can typically be dismissed quickly. Tenders scoring 5-7 warrant a closer read to assess whether they are genuinely in scope. Used alongside commercial and strategic criteria, AI scoring significantly improves bid selection efficiency.
Which AI model does PSIP use for tender scoring?
PSIP uses Anthropic's Claude, one of the most capable large language models available, to score tender relevance. Claude analyses each tender against your business profile and provides a 1-10 score with a reasoning statement explaining the assessment.
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