Chat is enabled per organization. If the Chat with AI button shows a lock icon, hover it and you’ll see: “You don’t have access to this feature. Contact your TruBuild administrator to request access.”
Why this matters
In a traditional procurement workflow, “answer a question about the tender” means:Cross-reference
Check evaluator comments, the email thread with the vendor, the technical justification.
Where you can chat
The chat opens as a sidebar and follows you through the evaluation workflow. Each context keeps its own conversation history, and the assistant tailors its answers to where you are:| Where | What it helps with |
|---|---|
| Package overview | General questions about the package and its documents |
| Technical evaluation (setup and review) | Clarifying criteria during setup; explaining scores and evidence during review |
| Commercial evaluation (setup and review) | Clarifying setup choices; explaining pricing comparisons and results |
| Award | Questions while you prepare the award recommendation |
| Knowledge Hub | Questions about tender queries and vetted answers |
What the chat can do
Beyond plain Q&A, the chat can take on real work:| Ability | What it does |
|---|---|
| Answer from your documents | Reads and searches the package’s uploaded documents to answer in plain English |
| Answer about evaluation results | In the technical and commercial review stages, explains scores, comparisons, and evidence |
| Check the Knowledge Hub | Looks up vetted tender query answers so your clarification language stays consistent |
| Search the web | Looks up market data, standards, and regulations when external context helps |
| Generate documents | Produces downloadable files (Word, PDF, Excel) from your data, such as a summary or comparison pack |
| Ask you clarifying questions | Presents a short form when it needs direction before proceeding |
Watching it work
As it works, the assistant shows each step in plain language, such as “Checking your knowledge hub”, “Searching the web”, or “Created your document (summary.docx)”, so you can see where the answer comes from. For longer reasoning you may see a collapsible Thinking… section before the final response streams in. To double-check a claim before it goes into a decision, open the referenced document yourself and confirm it against the source.When the chat asks you questions
Sometimes the assistant needs direction before it can do the work well: which vendors to include, what format you want, which round to use. Instead of guessing, it presents a short form in the conversation.- Questions arrive one page at a time, with a progress bar showing “Page X / Total”.
- Required questions are marked with
*; optional ones show “(optional)”. - Some options carry a Recommended badge where the assistant has a suggested default, and an Other field when a free-text answer is allowed.
- Use Back and Next to move between questions, then Submit on the last page.
- You can attach files via Attach documents (optional) if your answer needs supporting material.
- In a hurry? Click Use your best judgment to skip the form and let the assistant proceed with sensible defaults.
Example questions
Example questions to try (each category works standalone; you only need to have uploaded the relevant document type):About a commercial evaluation (if you've uploaded priced BOQs)
About a commercial evaluation (if you've uploaded priced BOQs)
- “What’s the spread on the top 10 items by dollar impact?”
- “Which vendor priced this package cheapest?”
- “Summarize all lines where Vendor C is more than 30% above the average.”
- “What’s the total delta between Round 1 and Round 2 for Vendor B?”
About technical proposals (if you've uploaded vendor tech docs)
About technical proposals (if you've uploaded vendor tech docs)
- “Compare Vendor A and Vendor C’s project management approach in 5 bullets.”
- “Which vendor has the strongest HSE track record on similar projects?”
- “What does Vendor D say about commissioning their control system?”
About tender queries (if you've logged clarifications)
About tender queries (if you've logged clarifications)
- “Are there any open queries that could delay award?”
- “Summarize the clarifications we’ve received from Vendor B so far.”
- “Have we already answered a question about retention on provisional sums?”
About any document you've uploaded
About any document you've uploaded
- “What are the three biggest risks in this RFP?”
- “Summarize this document in a paragraph.”
- “Find all mentions of retention across all uploaded documents.”
Scopes
The sidebar chat is always scoped to where you opened it, so it can’t accidentally answer questions about a different tender. Within a package, your visibility follows your package access (a package role takes precedence over your project role), and the chat only draws on content within that scope. Organization-wide questions belong in Agent Sam, which is limited to owners and admins.Step-by-step
Upload something
Any supported document in the package: an RFP, a BOQ, a contractor submission, or a query register.
Open chat
Click Chat with AI in the toolbar. The sidebar opens scoped to your current context, such as a package overview or a commercial review.
Follow up
Chat is stateful within a conversation: “and what about Vendor B?” knows what you’re asking about.
Managing conversations
- Resize: drag the handle on the left edge of the sidebar to widen or narrow it.
- Minimize or expand: use the chevron icons; click X to close the pane.
- History: past conversations are listed with titles, previews, and timestamps. Click one to pick it up where you left off.
- New conversation: click + to start a fresh thread. Start a new thread when you change topic; it keeps each conversation’s context clean.
- Feedback: rate any answer with the thumbs up or thumbs down icons. Ratings help your TruBuild team improve answer quality.
Best practices
Use chat for exploratory questions, not final numbers
Use chat for exploratory questions, not final numbers
The chat is excellent for finding things and summarizing. For final scores, prices, and award positions, verify against the structured commercial, technical, query, or award screens, or against the source document itself.
Be specific about the scope
Be specific about the scope
In a package with many documents, start with “In the RFP, …” or “Looking at Vendor B’s submission, …”. It cuts answer time and reduces wrong-scope answers.
Answer the clarifying questions when you can
Answer the clarifying questions when you can
“Use your best judgment” is fine for exploratory work. For anything you’ll circulate, answering the form questions (round, vendors, format) gets a noticeably better first draft.
Use it to prep for meetings
Use it to prep for meetings
Five minutes in the chat before a bid review meeting produces a much sharper read-out than 30 minutes of file scrolling.
Related
Brain and Agent Sam
The organization-wide assistant that reasons across past projects.
Knowledge Hub
The vetted tender query answers the chat can check for you.