Key takeaways
- AI assistants with web search can find much of the public information that government sales tools package: open bids, budgets, meeting minutes, grant awards and contract records.
- They're a low-cost way to start: each assistant has a free tier and individual paid plans, while government intelligence platforms are usually sold as annual subscriptions.
- Customize the prompts once with what you sell, your NAICS codes, buyers and states, then copy them into the assistant you use.
- AI is not exhaustive and can make mistakes. Ask for links, verify every result and use AI for discovery, not as your only source.
Why AI can be a low-cost substitute for expensive subscriptions
Much of what government sales intelligence platforms sell is built on public records: solicitations, budgets, meeting minutes, grant awards and contract data. AI assistants with web search can find and summarize many of those records for you.
Government intelligence platforms are typically sold as annual subscriptions priced for sales teams. AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity each offer a free tier and individual paid plans billed monthly. For a small business, a new market entry or a focused territory, a well-written prompt can cover a lot of the same ground.
| Task | AI assistant with web search | Paid intelligence platform |
|---|---|---|
| Find open bids | Good for focused searches; not exhaustive | Broad, structured coverage with alerts |
| Find funded projects in budgets and plans | Strong: reads and summarizes public documents | Varies by platform |
| Scan meeting minutes | Good for targeted agencies and topics | Some platforms monitor meetings at scale |
| Historical purchase orders | Limited to what is published online | A core strength of spending-data platforms |
| Verified contacts | Only names agencies publish | Often included |
| Analyze an RFP or draft outreach | Strong | Usually not the focus |
| Cost | Free tier or a monthly individual plan | Usually an annual subscription |
The honest trade-off: AI is faster to start and far cheaper, but it can miss items and occasionally get facts wrong, and it can't see data that isn't public. Use it for discovery and research, verify everything, and consider a subscription when your volume justifies it. Our directory of government sales intelligence tools lists both free sources and paid platforms.
How to use these prompts
- Customize once. Fill in the form below with what you sell, your NAICS codes, the words agencies use, your target agency types, states and competitors.
- Pick your assistant. Open the prompt page for the AI tool you use. Each one explains the features to turn on and how to save your company context.
- Start with the context prompt. It tells the AI who you are and sets a rule: public sources only, a link for every item, no guessing.
- Run the search prompts. Use web search or deep research mode for anything that needs current information.
- Verify. Open every link. Confirm due dates, amounts and names at the source before you act.
- Track and repeat. Copy results into a spreadsheet or CRM, and rerun the weekly watch prompt to catch new items.
Customize your prompts
Your entries update every prompt on this page and on each AI assistant's page, and stay saved in your browser.
Your details
Prompt libraries by AI assistant
Each page has the full set of 14 prompts plus setup steps, features to use and tips for that assistant.
Start with these three prompts
1. Give the AI your company context
Run this first, or save it as standing instructions, so every answer is tailored to what you sell and held to a sourcing standard.
You are helping [YOUR COMPANY] find government sales opportunities. About us: - We sell: [WHAT YOU SELL] - Our NAICS codes: [NAICS CODES] - Agencies usually describe what we sell with terms like: [SEARCH TERMS] - Our target buyers: [AGENCY TYPES] - Our target geography: [STATES] - Our main competitors: [COMPETITORS] Rules for every answer: - Use only public, verifiable sources, and include a working link for each item. - Give dates for everything (posted, due, adopted, awarded). - Say clearly when you can't find something or aren't sure. Never guess or invent details. - Put lists in a table I can copy into a spreadsheet.
2. Find open bids and RFPs
A first sweep for solicitations that are open right now.
Search for open solicitations (RFPs, RFQs, IFBs, RFIs and sources-sought notices) for [WHAT YOU SELL] from [AGENCY TYPES] in [STATES], posted in the last 30 days. Check SAM.gov for federal opportunities, each state's procurement portal, and local bid pages or shared platforms such as BidNet Direct, DemandStar, PlanetBids, OpenGov and Bonfire. Search with these terms: [SEARCH TERMS]. Return a table with: agency, solicitation title, solicitation number, posted date, due date, link, and one sentence on why it matches. Leave out anything past its due date.
3. Find funded projects in budgets and capital plans
Budgets and capital improvement plans show where money is set aside months before a bid.
Find adopted budgets and capital improvement plans for the current or next fiscal year from [AGENCY TYPES] in [STATES] that fund projects related to [WHAT YOU SELL] (search terms: [SEARCH TERMS]). For each result, give: agency, document name, page or section, project name, dollar amount if stated, fiscal year, and a link to the document. Sort by dollar amount, largest first.
What's in each prompt library
- 1. Give the AI your company context: Run this first, or save it as standing instructions, so every answer is tailored to what you sell and held to a sourcing standard.
- 2. Find open bids and RFPs: A first sweep for solicitations that are open right now.
- 3. Find funded projects in budgets and capital plans: Budgets and capital improvement plans show where money is set aside months before a bid.
- 4. Scan meeting agendas and minutes: Councils and boards discuss needs, pilots and purchases in public before they buy.
- 5. Find grant awards that could fund your product: Grant recipients have money to spend and a deadline to spend it.
- 6. Find contracts that expire soon: Expiring contracts are decision points. Start talking 12 to 18 months before the end date.
- 7. Check cooperative contracts: Cooperative contracts let agencies buy without their own bid. Know who holds them in your category.
- 8. See where competitors are winning: Public awards and approvals show which agencies already buy what you sell, and from whom.
- 9. Identify the right buyers at an agency: Find the departments and job titles that own the purchase before you reach out.
- 10. Build an account brief: A one-page brief before a call or meeting.
- 11. Analyze an RFP and decide whether to bid: Upload a solicitation to get a summary, a compliance matrix and a go/no-go view.
- 12. Draft respectful outreach: Turn a public signal into a short, low-pressure first email and phone opener.
- 13. Set up a weekly opportunity watch: Repeat the search every week to catch new items early.
- 14. Size your market: Count the agencies you can sell to before you build a target list.
Tips for writing your own prompts
- Be specific about the buyer. "Municipal water utilities in Texas serving 10,000 to 100,000 people" beats "government."
- Use agency language. Agencies write "advanced metering infrastructure," not your product name. Put those terms in your prompts.
- Set a time window. "Posted in the last 30 days" or "adopted for next fiscal year" keeps results current.
- Ask for a table with links. It makes results easy to check and move into a spreadsheet.
- Tell it not to guess. Ask the AI to say when it can't find something rather than fill the gap.
- Follow up. Ask "What did you miss?" or "Check these five state portals specifically" to widen the search.
Where KSG fits
AI can tell you where the opportunities are. Turning them into meetings takes conversations with the people behind them. Kensington Sales Group's SDRs research agencies, start those conversations and book meetings for companies that sell to government and utilities. See our B2G lead generation service.
Kensington Sales Group is not affiliated with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft or Perplexity. Product names are trademarks of their owners. AI features and plans change often; check each provider's current plan details. AI assistants can miss or misstate information, so verify every result at its source, and follow your company's policy on what information you share with AI tools.