RFP Platform Overview
One platform, from capture to contract
Opportunities, proposals and contracts share one workspace, so nothing is lost in the handoff between teams. Rules give you proof where you need it. Visi, the AI assistant, gives you a head start at every stage.
Trusted by 11 of the top 15 US federal contractors.
Building block 01 · The foundation
It starts with workspaces
Workspaces let enterprise organizations segment data, users and workflows into isolated environments: by business unit, region, client or compliance domain. All within a single VisibleThread deployment.
Secure, self-contained environments, each with its own collections, dictionaries, prompts, custom fields and settings.
Partition by team, program or security level. Each workspace maps to a business unit, program or customer.
Separation and governance scale with your AI use. Nothing crosses a boundary it shouldn't.
VisibleThread count 186Total licensed
users
The configurable platform
The building blocks that make it yours
Everything runs on one foundation: workspaces you segment, and two engines that do different jobs, deterministic and generative AI. Visi, the AI assistant, works across all of them. These are the elements you configure, with Customer Success leading the way.
Prompt Library
Repeatable AI workflows
Shared, approved prompts organized by job and stage: a competitor risk review for BD, a capabilities overview for proposals, an executive summary draft for writers. Built-in variables like {Opportunity} fill themselves in.
Your best users' methods become everyone's, at the right stage, instead of living in a Word doc on someone's desktop. No prompt expertise needed: Visi asks clarifying questions when a request is broad.
Collections
Grounding for trustworthy AI
Curated sets of your approved content, such as past performance, technical specs and case studies, that Visi draws on to generate or analyze. Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel are all searchable as soon as they upload.
Add files from your computer or point at SharePoint folders that stay fresh automatically. Every answer cites its source, down to the deck or spreadsheet.
Search Dictionaries
Deterministic precision
Curated term sets that find exactly what is present: Will / Shall / Must, requirements indicators, risk clauses.
No interpretation, no hallucination. 100% accurate and repeatable, encoding SME expertise anyone can run.
Watchword Lists
Clarity & terminology control
Term lists that flag jargon, banned or sensitive terms, and inconsistent language across documents.
One pass highlights every hit with counts and locations, so every volume stays consistent and on message, including the drafts Visi helps write.
In their words
"I didn't know VisibleThread existed until a few years ago, and the moment I first used Doc Compare I thought: where has this been my whole career?"
Capture to contract
Follow the work through one system of record
The building blocks power four stages of the lifecycle, and Visi works inside each one. Nothing is re-keyed, and nothing is lost in a handoff between tools.
Find the right pursuits early
Track opportunities from SAM.gov, eBuy and Find a Tender in one place. Attachments import with the opportunity, and every pursuit is scored for fit before anyone writes a word.
A tracked opportunity carries its documents and scores straight into analysis, so nothing is re-keyed.
Federated results from SAM.gov and eBuy, each scored for fit against your workspace profile.
Decide with evidence, not gut feel
Score technical alignment against the contracts you have already won, then shred the solicitation. The bid or no-bid call rests on the document itself, not a hunch in a meeting.
A bid decision hands the shredded requirement set to the proposal team as the outline they write against.
A single overall score plus a plain-language summary naming the most aligned contract.
Run the whole proposal in one place
Plan, assign, track and write every proposal from one place. The Proposals dashboard shows what's moving and what's stuck, and writers draft in Word with Visi alongside.
A submitted proposal becomes the baseline the awarded contract is compared against.
Stages from initiated through red team, gold team and submitted. Drag to move work forward.
Track all risk and compliance
Shred the award for risky terms and conditions so no unforeseen obligation slips through, and track every change from the version you bid on.
Obligations, risks and changes stay in the same workspace as the pursuit that won them.
Liability, warranty and termination terms found deterministically, each rated high, medium or low.
Why it holds together
Three things make the approach work
One system of record
A single environment across the whole lifecycle, with one AI assistant that works in every stage. Not point tools stitched together.
The right technology for each job
Rules where you need proof. Shred, compliance, version compare.
AI where you need a head start. Grounded in your content, cited to source, and Visi says so when the answer isn't there.
Built for sensitive work
Workspaces partition data by sensitivity. Deploy in US GovCloud or Customer-Managed, up to fully air-gapped. Administrators choose the LLM provider for each AI capability, or switch AI off.
Visi, Prompt Library and Collections. A running start on drafting and analysis wherever the work happens, grounded in your content and cited to source.
Search Dictionaries and Watchwords. Rules-based, no interpretation. 100% accurate, 100% repeatable, every run.
New in the platform
What's new in the latest release
Visi everywhere
Ask questions of the shred, comparison, outline or acronym report you have open, with every answer cited.
Word add-in
Prompt, ground and score inside Microsoft Word, with SharePoint co-editing supported.
Dashboards
BD and Capture and Proposals dashboards show value, stage, owner and due dates at a glance.
PowerPoint and Excel in Collections
Searched and cited alongside Word and PDF, including SAM.gov attachments.
Custom fields and shred templates
Nine field types on opportunities, proposals and contracts, plus shred templates built for your process.
Your choice of LLM
Administrators pick the provider for each AI capability and test the connection before switching it on.
Next on the roadmap: wider market coverage across SLED, Australia and Canada, CRM and document store integrations, an Excel add-in and the MCP server.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What stages of the RFP lifecycle does VisibleThread support?
The full lifecycle, from capture to contract, in one platform:
- BD and capture: opportunity search across SAM.gov, eBuy and Find a Tender, Best Fit scoring and competitive analysis
- Bid / no-bid: technical alignment against contracts you have won
- Analysis: shredding, compliance matrices and amendment tracking with Compare Docs
- Proposals: proposal management, SME collaboration, and AI-assisted bid writing and scoring
- Contracts: risk clause review, redlining and version compare
How does VisibleThread help improve win rates?
It gives you earlier insight into requirements, helps you focus on the pursuits you are most likely to win, and keeps every section aligned to the evaluation criteria. With the compliance work automated, your team has more time for strategy.
Can we use our own content and past proposals?
Yes, and that is where VisibleThread is most powerful. Collections hold your approved past performance, technical content and case studies, from your computer or SharePoint. Word, PDF, PowerPoint and Excel are all searchable, and every answer Visi gives cites its source.
How does VisibleThread use AI, and can we control it?
VisibleThread uses two engines. Deterministic rules handle work that needs proof, such as shredding, compliance checks and version compare. Generative AI, through Visi, helps with drafting, summarizing and answering questions about your documents.
Visi answers from your content, cites its sources, and tells you when the answer isn't there. Administrators can turn generative AI on or off and choose the LLM provider for each AI capability.
Does VisibleThread integrate with SharePoint and Microsoft Word?
Yes. Connect SharePoint folders to Collections, and they stay fresh automatically. The Microsoft Word add-in lets writers and SMEs prompt, ground and score their drafts inside Word, with SharePoint co-editing supported.
Can teams collaborate during reviews?
Yes. Assign sections, tasks and reviewers, leave comments, and move work through stages from initiation to submission. Every decision is recorded, so you have a clear audit trail of who did what.
How does VisibleThread keep data secure for government contractors?
VisibleThread aligns with SOC 2, CMMC, NIST 800-171, FIPS 140-2 and GDPR, and our US GovCloud offering provides FedRAMP Moderate Equivalency.
Workspaces isolate data by business unit, program or security level. Role-based permissions mean only authorized users in your organization see the information meant for them, and your data is never exposed outside it.
What deployment options are available, including air-gapped?
Four deployment models:
- US GovCloud: single tenant, hosted in AWS GovCloud (US) with US-citizen support, for GovCon and federal teams
- Customer-Managed On-Premises: for SCIFs and air-gapped networks
- Customer-Managed Private Cloud: including Azure GCC High and AWS
- VisibleThread Cloud: for commercial, non-regulated organizations
How does VisibleThread support FAR and DFARS compliance?
Search Dictionaries find FAR and DFARS clauses, requirements language and risk terms deterministically, so the same document always gives the same result. Every hit is traced to its paragraph, page and reference, which gives you a structured, auditable review.
Is VisibleThread only for large enterprises?
No. It is trusted by 11 of the top 15 US federal contractors, and it is equally valuable for small and mid-sized teams that want to compete more efficiently.
See the platform on your own opportunities
We'll walk the full capture-to-contract lifecycle live, show Visi on your documents, and set up the workspaces, collections and dictionaries that fit your teams.