20 AI prompts that do what Starbridge, NationGraph and other paid tools do, for free.

Replaces: Starbridge and NationGraph meeting monitoring; Pursuit and Civic IQ signals. The core of every signals platform is reading thousands of public meeting agendas and minutes. For a focused list of agencies, an AI assistant with web search can do the same job one batch at a time.

I sell {PRODUCT} to {BUYERS} in {STATES}. For each of these agencies: {AGENCIES}

Search their public meeting agendas, minutes, staff reports and board packets from the last 120 days (Legistar, Granicus, BoardDocs, CivicClerk, PrimeGov and agency websites) for any discussion of: {KEYWORDS}.

For each hit, give me: agency, meeting date, agenda item title, a one-sentence summary of what was discussed or decided, the dollar amount if one was mentioned, the staff member or department named, and a working link to the document. Then rank the agencies by how close they seem to a purchase. Only report items you actually found; if an agency has nothing, say so.

Tip: Run it on 10 to 15 agencies at a time. Ask for links and spot-check two or three before you act on anything.

Replaces: Budget-signal features in Starbridge, NationGraph and Pursuit. Adopted budgets and capital plans are long PDFs. The assistant can read them for you and pull out the items that match what you sell.

Here is a link to {AGENCY}'s adopted budget or capital improvement plan: {URL}

Read it and list every line item, project or initiative that relates to {PRODUCT} or {KEYWORDS}. For each one: the page number, the department, the fiscal year it's funded in, the amount, the funding source (general fund, grant, bond, enterprise fund) and whether it's new funding or a continuation. Flag anything described as 'replacement', 'upgrade', 'modernization', 'study' or 'pilot'. Finish with a short note on which items look like near-term purchases versus multi-year plans.

Tip: If the assistant can't open the PDF, download it and upload it to the chat. Most assistants read uploaded PDFs well.

Replaces: Leadership-change signals in Starbridge, Pursuit and Leadership Connect career tracking. A new CIO, superintendent, public works director or city manager often reviews vendors in their first year. Press releases and board minutes announce these appointments.

Find {BUYERS} in {STATES} that appointed a new {ROLE} (or an interim) in the last 90 days. Search agency press releases, board and council minutes, local news and LinkedIn announcements. For each: agency, person's name and title, start date, where they came from, the source link, and whether the announcement mentions priorities related to {KEYWORDS}. Return a table sorted by start date, newest first. Do not include anyone whose appointment you cannot confirm with a link.

Tip: Swap {ROLE} for the title that matters to you: Chief Information Officer, Director of Public Works, Superintendent, Police Chief, General Manager.

Replaces: Job-posting signals in Starbridge. An agency hiring a GIS analyst, a body-camera program coordinator or a cybersecurity lead is usually about to buy or expand the related system.

Search current job postings at {BUYERS} in {STATES} (GovernmentJobs.com, agency career pages, state job boards, school district HR pages, Indeed) for roles whose duties mention {KEYWORDS} or systems like {PRODUCT}. For each posting: agency, job title, posting date, the specific sentence that mentions the system or initiative, the hiring department, and a link. Explain in one line what purchase or project the posting implies. Skip postings older than 60 days.

Tip: Job descriptions often name the incumbent product. Note it: that's your competitor and a conversation starter.

Replaces: Grant-signal features in Starbridge and NationGraph. Grant awards are public and come with spending deadlines. An agency that just won funding for a program has budget and a clock.

Find {BUYERS} in {STATES} that received a grant award in the last 6 months that could fund a purchase of {PRODUCT}. Check USAspending.gov assistance awards, Grants.gov, state grant announcements, agency press releases and board minutes accepting grant funds. For each: recipient agency, grant program name, awarding agency, amount, award date, period of performance, what the award description says it will fund, and a link. Highlight any award whose description mentions {KEYWORDS}.

Tip: Pair this with our list of federal grant programs that fund local purchases, linked below, to pick the programs worth searching.

Replaces: Contract-expiration signals in Pursuit; competitor contract data in Starbridge and Pursuit. Councils and boards approve contracts, renewals and extensions in public session, and those items state the term. An expiring competitor contract is the best signal there is.

For {BUYERS} in {STATES}, find approved contracts, renewals or extensions for {COMPETITORS} or for products like {PRODUCT}. Search council and board agendas and minutes, consent agendas, posted contract documents and procurement portals. For each: agency, vendor, what was bought, original award date, current term end date, renewal options remaining, annual value, and a link to the approving agenda item or contract. Sort by end date, soonest first, and flag any contract that ends within the next 18 months.

Tip: Procurement usually starts 6 to 12 months before a contract ends. The flagged rows are your outreach list for this quarter.

Replaces: Federal spend analysis in GovSpend, GovWin IQ and GovTribe. Every federal contract action is published. USAspending.gov and FPDS can be searched by NAICS, PSC, agency and vendor; the assistant can run the search and summarize the results.

Using USAspending.gov (and FPDS if needed), find federal contract awards in fiscal years {FY_RANGE} under NAICS {NAICS} or product/service codes {PSC}, with descriptions mentioning {KEYWORDS}. Summarize: the top 10 awarding agencies and sub-agencies by total obligations, the top 10 vendors, typical award size, the most common contract vehicles (GSA Schedule, SEWP, agency IDIQs, open market) and set-aside types used. Include links to the USAspending searches or award pages you relied on. Note where the data is incomplete.

Tip: USAspending has an advanced search you can share by link. Paste that link into the prompt and ask the assistant to work from it.

Replaces: Opportunity and recompete tracking in GovWin IQ and GovTribe. Capture tools make money by telling you when a contract comes back around. The award record already contains the period of performance.

At {AGENCY}, find the current contracts for {PRODUCT} or {KEYWORDS}. For each: contract or award ID, incumbent vendor, contract vehicle, award date, current period of performance end date, total and obligated value, the contracting office, and the small business status of the award. Use USAspending.gov, FPDS, SAM.gov award notices and any agency forecast. Then tell me which contracts are likely to be recompeted in the next 12 to 24 months, and whether any sources sought or RFI has already been posted for the follow-on. Links for everything.

Tip: Combine with prompt 11. If a sources sought notice is already out, you're late to the shaping phase but not to the bid.

Replaces: Purchase order data in GovSpend; competitor spend intelligence in Starbridge. Many states, counties, cities and school districts publish check registers, vendor payment reports and open-data spending portals. It takes digging, which is what the assistant is for.

For {AGENCY}, find published records of payments or purchase orders to {COMPETITORS} or for {KEYWORDS} in the last 3 fiscal years. Check the state transparency or open checkbook portal, the agency's own open data site, posted check registers and warrant lists, board-approved purchase lists, and audited financial statements. For each record: date, vendor, amount, description or account, and a link. Total it by vendor and by year, and tell me what the pattern suggests about contract size and renewal timing. If the agency publishes nothing, say so and suggest the public records request I would need to file.

Tip: When the records aren't online, the assistant can draft the records request. Our FOIA guide, linked below, shows what to ask for.

Replaces: Pricing intelligence in GovSpend and cooperative contract research. Award amounts, quantities and cooperative contract price lists are public. Knowing what agencies pay helps you qualify budget on the first call.

Find publicly posted prices paid by government agencies for {PRODUCT}. Search cooperative contract catalogs (Sourcewell, OMNIA Partners, NASPO ValuePoint, BuyBoard, TIPS, state contracts, GSA Advantage), council and board award items that list unit prices or quantities, and bid tabulations. Build a table: agency or contract, vendor, product or service, unit price or total, quantity, date, and link. Then give me a plain summary of the typical price range and what drives the differences (volume, term, bundled services).

Tip: Bid tabulations are gold. Many agencies post them with the award; ask specifically for 'bid tab' or 'tabulation'.

Replaces: Pre-solicitation tracking in GovWin IQ and GovTribe; Civic IQ's pre-RFP signals. Sources sought notices, RFIs, industry days and acquisition forecasts are published months before a solicitation. That's when requirements are still being written.

Find pre-solicitation activity for {PRODUCT} or {KEYWORDS} at {BUYERS} in the last 90 days: sources sought notices and RFIs on SAM.gov, agency acquisition forecasts (such as the Acquisition Gateway and agency OSDBU forecast pages), industry day announcements, and state or local 'request for information' postings. For each: agency, notice title and ID, posting date, response deadline, the point of contact named in the notice, a one-sentence description of what they're trying to buy, and a link. Flag notices with a response deadline in the next 30 days.

Tip: Respond to RFIs even when you're not sure you'll bid. It's the one time the buyer asks to talk to you.

Replaces: Competitor tracking in GovWin IQ, GovTribe, Starbridge and Pursuit. Knowing where a competitor is installed tells you where to go and where not to waste time, and gives you references to ask about.

Build a list of government customers of {COMPETITORS} in {STATES}. Use the vendor's own press releases and case studies, council and board approvals, USAspending.gov and FPDS awards, state contract award notices, cooperative contract usage reports, agency websites that name the system, and news coverage. For each customer: agency, state, what they bought, when, contract value if public, contract end date if public, and a link. Group by market (city, county, K-12, higher ed, utility, state, federal) and tell me where the competitor seems strongest and weakest.

Tip: Add 'and any public complaints, outages, audits or council discussions about the vendor' to find accounts worth a call.

Replaces: Early-stage project intelligence in Citylitics. Water, wastewater, roads and energy projects appear in capital plans, master plans and rate studies years before construction. The specification is written in that window.

Find municipalities and utilities in {STATES} with planned {PROJECT_TYPE} projects that are in the planning or design stage (not yet under construction). Search capital improvement plans, water and sewer master plans, asset management plans, rate studies, and council or board presentations from the last 12 months. For each: agency, project name, stage (study, planning, design, funded), estimated cost, planned construction year, the consulting engineer if named, the funding source, and a link. Sort by estimated cost. Note anything that mentions {KEYWORDS}.

Tip: Set {PROJECT_TYPE} to something specific: 'water main replacement', 'wastewater treatment plant upgrade', 'advanced metering', 'lead service line replacement'.

Replaces: Regulatory and funding signals in Citylitics. Consent decrees, compliance orders, lead service line inventories and State Revolving Fund project lists tell you which systems must spend, and on what.

For water and wastewater systems in {STATES}, find systems under compliance pressure or in line for funding that relates to {PRODUCT}: EPA and state enforcement orders or consent decrees, lead service line inventory findings, Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund intended use plans and project priority lists, and WIFIA or state grant awards. For each system: name, population served, the issue or funded project, the amount if listed, the deadline or expected construction year, and a link to the primary document. Rank by urgency.

Tip: SRF intended use plans are published by each state's environmental or finance agency. Ask for the current fiscal year's list by name.

Replaces: Bond and ballot-measure tracking in Citylitics, Starbridge and Pursuit. When voters approve a bond, the official statement filed on EMMA and the ballot language list what the money will buy, often down to the facility.

Find bond measures approved by voters in {STATES} in the last 12 months for {BUYERS}, and recent municipal bond issues by those agencies. Use state and county election results pages, agency bond program pages, and official statements on EMMA (emma.msrb.org). For each: agency, measure name and amount, approval date, the project list or use of proceeds as stated in the ballot language or official statement, the projects that relate to {KEYWORDS}, the expected issuance and spending timeline, and links. Flag agencies whose project lists mention {PRODUCT} or related systems.

Tip: Our school bond election playbook and public safety levy post, linked below, show how to time outreach after a measure passes.

Replaces: Org charts in Leadership Connect, Pursuit and Starbridge. Budgets include staffing tables, agency websites list directors, and minutes name the staff who present. Together they make an org chart.

Build an org chart for the {DEPARTMENT} at {AGENCY}. Use the agency website's staff directory, the adopted budget's department pages and position lists, organizational charts in budget or audit documents, meeting minutes where staff are named with titles, and press releases. List each person with title, reporting line as best you can determine, how recently they were confirmed in the role, a public email or phone number if the agency publishes one, and the source link for each fact. Mark anything inferred rather than stated. Identify who likely owns decisions about {PRODUCT} and who influences them.

Tip: Only use contact details the agency itself publishes. For anything else, call the main line and ask; that's what our SDRs do.

Replaces: Decision-maker search in NationGraph Contacts, Starbridge, Leadership Connect and GovTribe buyer contacts. The name on an RFP is the buyer; the name on the staff report is the owner. Minutes and staff reports tell you who actually wants the project.

At {AGENCY}, identify the staff members most involved with {KEYWORDS} or {PRODUCT}. Search meeting minutes and staff reports (who presented the item or is named as the project manager), the budget (which department holds the line item), RFPs and RFIs (the named contact), press releases (who is quoted), and the staff directory. For each person: name, title, department, the specific document and date that connects them to the topic, and a link. Then recommend who to contact first and why, and who else should be in the loop.

Tip: Ask a follow-up: 'Draft a short, respectful first email to [name] that references the [date] staff report and offers to share how peers handled it.'

Replaces: Legislative tracking in Leadership Connect; policy signals in NationGraph. A new state law requiring, say, panic buttons in schools, water-loss audits or AI inventories creates a buying need across every covered agency on a fixed timeline.

Find state laws, regulations or executive orders enacted in {STATES} in the last 18 months that require {BUYERS} to adopt, report on or replace anything related to {KEYWORDS}. Use state legislature websites, governor's offices, state agency rulemaking pages and reputable legal or trade summaries. For each: state, bill or rule number, what it requires, which agencies are covered, the compliance deadline, whether funding was appropriated, and a link to the official text. Then list the agencies most affected and what they will need to buy or change to comply.

Tip: Our state AI policy tracker, linked below, is an example of this approach applied to one topic.

Replaces: Account scoring in Starbridge; ranked institution lists in NationGraph Automations. Once you have signals, the useful step is ranking. The assistant can apply a consistent rubric across a list and show its reasoning.

Here is my list of target agencies: {AGENCIES}. For each, research the following and score it 0 to 3: (a) a relevant item in meeting minutes or agendas in the last 6 months, (b) funding in the current budget or capital plan for {KEYWORDS}, (c) a competitor contract ending within 18 months, (d) a recent leadership change or relevant job posting, (e) a grant, bond or mandate that creates a need. Total the score, show the evidence and link for each point awarded, and return a ranked table. Tell me which three agencies to call first and what to reference in the first conversation.

Tip: Work in batches of 10 to 20. This is the prompt that turns research into a call list. Our TAM-to-target guide, linked below, explains the full process.

Replaces: Alerts and automations in Starbridge, NationGraph, Pursuit and Civic IQ. Paid tools send alerts. You can get close with a saved prompt that re-runs the same searches and reports only what changed.

You are my weekly government sales monitor for {COMPANY}. Every time I run this, repeat these searches for {BUYERS} in {STATES} and report only items that are new since {LAST_RUN_DATE}: (1) agenda or minutes items mentioning {KEYWORDS}; (2) new solicitations, RFIs or sources sought for {PRODUCT}; (3) contract approvals or renewals involving {COMPETITORS}; (4) new {ROLE} appointments; (5) grant or bond approvals that could fund {PRODUCT}. Format each item as: date, agency, type of signal, one-line summary, suggested next step, link. End with a count of new items and the three most important ones.

Tip: Save it in a project or custom instructions, or use a scheduled-task feature where your assistant offers one. Update {LAST_RUN_DATE} each week.