Using AI to help prepare a bid is not prohibited in UK public procurement, but under PPN 017 buyers may ask you to disclose it, and a growing number do. The safe position is simple: disclose honestly, explain the human verification behind your answers, and never let a model state a capability you do not have. Buyers are not hunting for AI use itself; they are hunting for unverified content, misrepresented capability and leaked confidential material. This guide covers what the guidance actually says and how to answer the disclosure question well.
What PPN 017 actually says
The Procurement Policy Note on AI in procurement is guidance to contracting authorities, not a statute aimed at suppliers. Its core points: buyers may ask bidders to disclose whether generative AI was used in preparing a response, they may build in extra due diligence time where AI use is expected, and they remain responsible for making sure what they buy is fit for purpose. Nothing in it bans AI-assisted bidding, and disclosure is not a ground for exclusion by itself. What buyers act on is inaccuracy. A disclosed, verified, AI-assisted bid is a normal bid; an undisclosed and wrong one is a misrepresentation problem.
What evaluators are actually worried about
Three things. First, accuracy: models write fluent claims that no one at the supplier checked, and evaluators mark down answers that read confident but do not match the appended evidence. Second, confidentiality: pasting a buyer's restricted documents into a public AI tool can breach the tender conditions before you have written a word. Third, capability misrepresentation: the model describes certifications, integrations or experience the supplier does not have. Real bids have been disqualified for exactly this, and we walk through the public cases in AI in bids: two disqualifications and one green light.
A disclosure answer that builds trust
When the question appears in an SQ or quality response, a strong answer has four parts. State the tools and what they were used for, in one sentence. State what they were not used for: pricing decisions, certifications, claims of experience. Describe the verification step: a named human reviewed every AI-assisted section against source documents before submission. Confirm confidentiality handling: buyer documents were processed only in tools that do not train on your data, and no restricted material entered public models. That is the whole answer. Length signals nervousness; a tight, factual paragraph signals a supplier in control of its process.
A practical AI policy for a small bid team
You do not need a governance department. Keep a one-page register listing which AI tools the team may use and for what. Add a hard rule that every AI-assisted claim needs a source: a contract reference, a certificate, a named project. Put a human sign-off on each section before it goes in the portal. And check the tender conditions for confidentiality clauses before uploading any buyer document to any tool. Those four habits cover what PPN 017 expects buyers to probe.
How Lucius handles this
We build our software around the same worry the buyers have. Lucius AI drafts against the tender's own requirements and attaches page-level citations to the source documents, so a reviewer can verify every claim before submission rather than take the model's word for it. Buyer documents are processed in a private environment and are not used to train models; the details are on our trust page. If you want to see the citation workflow on a real document, run a free analysis without creating an account.
Disclosure: this guide is published by Lucius AI, which builds AI bid and tender software. It is general guidance, not legal advice. Reviewed July 2026; next scheduled review October 2026.
Do I have to tell a buyer I used AI if they do not ask?
There is no general duty to volunteer it. If the tender asks, answer honestly. If it does not, your obligation is the same as always: every statement in the bid must be accurate and you must comply with the tender's confidentiality conditions.
Can a buyer reject my bid just because I used AI?
PPN 017 does not make AI use a ground for exclusion. Rejections in the public cases came from inaccurate or fabricated content and from breaching tender conditions, not from the use of AI as such.
Is it safe to upload tender documents to AI tools?
Only if the tool's data handling matches the tender's confidentiality requirements. Public tools that train on user input are the risk case. Check the conditions first and use tools that contractually exclude training on your data.
Does using AI in bid writing count as subcontracting?
No. AI tooling is part of your internal process, like a spellchecker or a document template. What matters to the buyer is that the named supplier stands behind every claim in the response.
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