AI for quotes and proposals: how to price and quote work faster

Most of the time in a quote isn't spent on the price. It goes on writing up what the customer asked for, explaining what's included, and chasing the customer afterwards. Those are writing jobs, and writing is what AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemini do well.

AI is weaker at the price itself. It doesn't know your costs, your supplier prices, how long a job really takes you, or how much margin you need. If you ask it to price a job, it will give you a number. That number may look sensible and still be wrong.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre warns that AI tools can get things wrong and 'hallucinate' facts. It says they give convincing-sounding answers that may only be partly correct. In a quote, a confident wrong number is the worst kind of mistake.

Keep your prices in something you control, such as a spreadsheet, your job management software or a printed price list. Then give the AI the finished figures and ask it only to present them. If you use Copilot in Excel, Microsoft says it can help analyse data and create formulas, which is useful for building a pricing calculator. You still need to check the formulas it writes.

Tell the AI not to change, round or invent any price. A line such as 'Use only the prices I give you. If a price is missing, write [PRICE NEEDED]' makes gaps easy to spot.

A quoting kit is the set of materials you reuse on every quote. It takes an afternoon to build, and it's the reason AI quoting saves time rather than adding checking work.

1. 1 Write or update your price list. Include your hourly or day rate, standard packages, call-out or travel charges and any minimum charge.
2. 2 Save one good quote you've sent before as a template, with the customer's details removed.
3. 3 List your standard inclusions and exclusions, for example 'Waste removal included. Decorating not included.'
4. 4 Write your standard terms in plain English: how long the quote is valid, deposit, payment terms and what happens if the job changes.
5. 5 List the questions you need answered before you can quote, such as measurements, access, deadlines and budget.
6. 6 Write a short voice note for the AI: how you address customers, how formal you are and how long your emails usually are.
7. 7 Keep everything in one folder or, on ChatGPT's paid plans, in a project, so you don't have to paste it in every time.

Once your kit is ready, a typical quote follows the same short routine. The AI does the writing. You do the thinking and the checking.

1. 1 Straight after the call or visit, record or type your rough notes. Don't tidy them up.
2. 2 Work out the price in your own spreadsheet or software.
3. 3 Give the AI your notes, the prices and your template, and ask it to write a scope of work in plain English.
4. 4 Ask it to list anything in your notes that is unclear or missing. This often catches the questions you forgot to ask.
5. 5 Ask it to apply your standard inclusions, exclusions and terms.
6. 6 Read the whole quote. Check every figure, date and promise against your notes.
7. 7 Ask the AI for a short cover email, then send the quote yourself.
8. 8 Set a reminder to follow up, and ask the AI to draft a friendly chaser when the time comes.

A clear quote stops arguments later. The Federation of Master Builders advises that a detailed quote should be written, not verbal. It says a good quote gives a detailed breakdown of what is included and, importantly, what isn't. That advice is about building work, but it applies to most trades and services.

AI is useful here as a checker. Paste your draft and ask, 'What would a customer be confused about?' or 'What have I not said about timescales or payment?'

The words matter. The FMB describes an estimate as an educated guess of what a project will cost, which may leave out details so the final cost can rise. A quote is an agreed price for the job, as long as the specification doesn't change.

Decide which one you're giving and say so clearly at the top. AI tools tend to mix the two words up, so check that the draft uses your chosen word all the way through. If you're giving an estimate, explain what could make the final price go up or down.

If you sell to consumers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has guidance on price transparency under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. It says mandatory charges, which include taxes such as VAT, admin fees and unavoidable extra charges, belong in the total price. Presenting a charge separately doesn't make it optional if the customer has to pay it.

The guidance also recognises that some work is bespoke and can't be priced in advance. In that case, a business can publish a price list, show a realistic 'from' price, ask for the customer's details first, or wait until it has assessed the job before giving a firm price. The CMA gives home improvement, removals and cleaning as examples of services that often quote this way.

If you're VAT registered, the standard rate is 20%, so a price excluding VAT is multiplied by 1.2 to get the VAT-inclusive price. Ask the AI to show both figures if you quote to business customers too, and check the sums yourself. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the CMA guidance or take advice if you're unsure how it applies to you.

A proposal is a longer document that explains how you'd approach a piece of work, often for a business customer. Consultancies, agencies, event companies and accountants write a lot of them. Most proposals reuse the same building blocks: about us, your approach, case studies, timescales and terms.

AI is good at adapting those blocks to each customer. Give it the customer's brief and your standard sections, and ask it to rewrite the approach section around their problem. It can also turn a long proposal into a one-page summary for a busy decision maker.

• Keep a library of approved sections you've written and checked, rather than letting the AI write from nothing each time.
• Never let the AI invent case studies, client names, results or qualifications.
• Ask it to check the proposal answers every point in the customer's brief.
• Read the final version as if you were the customer before you send it.

Quotes often contain names, addresses and sometimes sensitive details. The NCSC advises not to include sensitive information in queries to public AI tools. ChatGPT's pricing page says content on its Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans is used to train its models, with an opt-out available.

The simplest habit is to give the AI the job details without the customer's personal details, then add them to the final document yourself. If your team quotes a lot, a business plan that your organisation controls is a safer choice. The ICO (Information Commissioner's Office, the UK's data protection regulator) has guidance on AI and data protection if you want more detail.

Faster quotes are one of the topics in our AI training. These are live remote sessions built on your own quotes and templates. We help you set up your quoting kit and prompts, and you keep the prompt library at the end.

If you want quotes to flow straight from your website or into your CRM (customer relationship management system, where you keep customer details), our custom software and integrations work can connect your systems. To talk it through, use the 'Tell us about your project' form.