CW Procurement AI Copilot Module Overview

Procurement AI Copilot for Contract Writing

Appian offers pre-built integrations that extend your Contract Writing (CW) solution's capabilities by incorporating feature-rich modules. The Procurement AI Copilot is one of these integrations supported by the CW solution.

The Procurement AI Copilot provides the following capabilities:

• Knowledge sets: Organize documents into topic-based groupings and scope AI interactions to specific knowledge sets.
• Chatbot interface: Ask questions and receive AI-driven, contextually relevant responses based on your agency's documents.
• AI Chat with multiple documents: Ask questions across multiple documents returned from a Document Smart Search on the Smart Search tab.
• Dashboard analytics: Monitor query resolution rates, frequently asked questions, and chat utilization metrics.
• Document management: Upload and manage the institutional knowledge base that powers the AI Copilot.
• Dedicated AI Copilot site: Access the Procurement AI Copilot directly through a standalone site.
• Settings: Configure the Procurement AI Copilot toggles for the Contract Writing solution.

Procurement AI Copilot

The Procurement AI Copilot is a dynamic, AI-driven module integrated with Appian's Contract Writing (CW) solution. The Procurement AI Copilot acts as a knowledge assistant, streamlining the procurement process for government agencies.

The Procurement AI Copilot assists users in navigating the complexities of government contracting. This module offers quick access to institutional knowledge, simplifies compliance with evolving regulations, and enhances decision-making efficiency.

By integrating AI-powered chat interfaces and document management systems, the Procurement AI Copilot reduces the manual effort in information retrieval and compliance checks, leading to faster, more informed contract writing and management.

Knowledge sets

Knowledge sets are groupings of documents that you can select as context for the Procurement AI Copilot. By organizing documents into knowledge sets, you control the scope of information the AI uses when answering questions, ensuring responses are focused and relevant.

The Procurement AI Copilot ships with three out-of-the-box knowledge sets:

• FAR Chat: A pre-configured knowledge set that includes the latest version of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). You can add other agency-specific documents to this knowledge set as needed.
• Knowledge Set 1: A general-purpose knowledge set that you can rename to align with your organization's needs.
• Knowledge Set 2: A general-purpose knowledge set that you can rename to align with your organization's needs.

You can rename the default knowledge sets to match your organization's terminology. If you need additional knowledge sets beyond the three defaults, see Setting Up Procurement AI Copilot for instructions on adding new entries.

Chatbot interface

Users engage with the Procurement AI Copilot chatbot through a conversational interface, asking questions and receiving AI-driven, contextually relevant responses.

Before chatting, users select a knowledge set to define the scope of the interaction. The Docs panel is populated after the knowledge set is selected, showing which documents are available for reference. You can deselect individual documents from the panel if you want to narrow the context further.

The chatbot delivers insights specifically tailored to the agency's unique operational needs, drawing directly from the documents in the selected knowledge set. By focusing on a specific knowledge set, the chatbot narrows the scope of responses, avoiding generic and broad answers often associated with traditional AI chat, and helping to streamline decision-making in contract management.

AI Chat with multiple documents

Contract Writing (CW) extends the Procurement AI Copilot's chat capabilities to support chatting with multiple documents at once. Users can ask questions across multiple documents returned from a Document Smart Search on the Smart Search tab.

AI Chat with multiple documents is available on the Smart Search tab when the Documents search mode is selected and the AI Document Builder toggle is enabled in the CW Settings Site.

How AI Chat with multiple documents works

AI Chat with multiple documents evaluates the content of all documents returned from a Document Smart Search to answer the user's question. The AI response cites the specific document or documents that each answer was drawn from, helping users trace information back to its source.

• Multi-document scope: Ask questions across all documents returned from a Document Smart Search instead of opening and chatting with each document individually.
• Source citations: AI responses include citations identifying which document or documents the answer was drawn from.
• Permission-aware results: AI Chat respects existing document permissions and visibility. Users can only chat with documents they have access to view.

See CW Quick Start User Guide for step-by-step instructions on using AI Chat with multiple documents.

Dashboard analytics

The Procurement AI Copilot dashboard showcases key performance indicators (KPIs) such as query resolution rates, frequently asked questions, and chat utilization metrics. The dashboard features the ability to view, search, and filter through the list of previously asked questions.

The dashboard tracks which knowledge set each question was asked to and displays the knowledge set on the question grid. The dashboard functionality aids in quickly identifying common queries and knowledge gaps within specific knowledge sets, guiding the focus toward areas needing training or process improvement.

Managing documents

The Procurement AI Copilot document upload process centralizes institutional knowledge, making it easily accessible. Centralizing documents helps in maintaining an up-to-date, accurate repository of information crucial for efficient contracting.

When uploading a document to the Document Database, you select which knowledge set the document belongs to. A document can belong to multiple knowledge sets, and must be associated with at least one. The document grid displays the knowledge sets each document belongs to, and you can filter the grid by knowledge set to find documents quickly.

The document management capability empowers contracting managers to effectively manage their organization's knowledge base, ensuring that all team members have quick access to the most relevant and current information for their contracting needs.

Dedicated AI Copilot site

The Procurement AI Copilot is accessible through a dedicated site that provides direct access to all AI Copilot capabilities. The dedicated site displays all documents and knowledge sets, giving users a comprehensive view of the available knowledge base without navigating through the Contract Writing solution interface.

Procurement AI Copilot settings

The Procurement AI Copilot settings page gives you the ability to configure the three Procurement AI Copilot settings for the Contract Writing solution.

Extend Contract Writing with AI Copilot

Ready to extend your Contract Writing solution to include AI Copilot capabilities? See Setting Up Procurement AI Copilot for setup instructions or Installing Procurement AI Copilot to get started with installation.

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