Artificial intelligence has been framed as the great disruptor of jobs. Headlines warn of displacement, policymakers warn of risk, and workers brace for change. But across many industries, the opposite is happening. Skilled professionals are not fighting AI; they’re asking for more of it.
Nowhere is this clearer than in proposal writing, a critical but often overlooked function at the centre of business growth. New research which surveyed 511 proposal professionals across the US, UK, and Australia, shows that teams on the ground are already identifying where AI can deliver immediate performance gains.
According to the research, 92% of bid writers believe that AI would allow them to submit more bids, and 95% say it would improve their win rates. Yet only one in three teams currently has access to any form of AI tool.
This is not about fear of automation or job loss. It’s about capability. Proposal teams want to use AI to accelerate repetitive processes, analyse requirements faster, and spend more time on strategic, human-led work – the kind that wins deals.
The productivity pressure point
Economic uncertainty and shrinking client budgets are now putting more pressure on how businesses compete for growth. Proposal teams, the ones tasked with securing new contracts and revenue, are caught in the middle.
Three-quarters (75%) of proposal writers say RFPs have become more complex in the last three years, while 73% cite tight submission windows as a major challenge. Many describe working at full capacity simply to keep up.
That pressure is as operational as it is cultural. The longer teams are expected to do more with less, the harder it becomes to attract and retain talent. Leaders risk losing their most experienced professionals to competitors that invest in smarter, AI-supported workflows.
Evidence from the field
Independent data support this trend. Analysis from MH&A shows that organisations deploying the AI-powered proposal software achieved an average 12.4% revenue growth, while comparable non-users saw a 7.1% decline over the same period.
These are not abstract gains. They illustrate how use of the right AI tool in proposal writing translates directly into measurable performance improvements – not by replacing people, but by supporting their expertise.
The cultural hesitation
So why aren’t more organisations acting? The answer seems to lie not in cost or capability, but in confidence. Adoption remains uneven; only 34% of proposal teams currently use AI tools, while most others are still exploring or piloting them. AI use is expanding rapidly across industries, but many still rely on generic writing tools or general-purpose AI systems that were never designed for the complexity of bid development. Without dedicated solutions trained for proposal compliance and strategy, these teams are missing out on the precision and efficiency gains that specialist tools can deliver.
This approach could soon become a liability. In a market where top performers are already leveraging process-specific AI tools to move faster and respond more effectively, standing still is the greater risk.
Beyond fear to advantage
The story emerging from this data is not one of displacement but of enablement. The professionals closest to the work are not threatened by AI, they see it as essential to doing their jobs better, faster, and with more precision. And the data shows they’re right.
Heading into 2026, the question for business leaders is no longer whether AI can help; the research already shows it does. The question is how quickly they can put it in the hands of the people who will use it to win.
