Can I use Bidara and Microsoft Copilot together?

Yes! Many customers use both. Bidara handles the heavy lifting—RFP analysis and complete proposal generation. Then export to Word and use Copilot to polish individual sentences, adjust tone, or help with final formatting. Best of both worlds.

We already pay for Microsoft 365 E5 with Copilot. Why would we add Bidara?

Copilot is included in your E5 license, so it's "free" for general productivity. But if your team spends 20-30 hours per proposal, Bidara pays for itself on the first RFP. Think of it this way: Copilot makes you 10% faster at everything. Bidara makes you 85% faster at proposals specifically.

Does Bidara integrate with SharePoint or OneDrive?

Bidara has its own document management for your proposal content library. You upload past proposals, case studies, and team credentials directly to Bidara. The generated proposals export to Word format, which you can then store anywhere including SharePoint.

How does Bidara handle security compared to Microsoft?

Bidara is SOC 2 Type II compliant with enterprise-grade security. Your documents are encrypted at rest and in transit. We never train our models on customer data. That said, Microsoft's deep integration with your existing tenant policies may be preferred by some IT teams for general productivity tools.

What if I only respond to a few RFPs per year?

If you respond to fewer than 5 simple RFPs annually, Copilot (which you may already have) is probably sufficient. Bidara makes sense when proposals take 20+ hours each, or when you want to scale your RFP capacity without hiring.

Can Copilot learn from my past proposals like Bidara does?

Not in the same way. Copilot can search documents in SharePoint, but it doesn't build persistent knowledge about your company's capabilities, writing style, and winning approaches. Each Copilot session essentially starts fresh. Bidara permanently learns from every document you upload.

HONEST COMPARISON

Bidara vs Microsoft Copilot:
RFP Specialist vs Productivity Assistant

Microsoft Copilot is excellent for general productivity across Microsoft 365. But RFP responses require specialized AI trained on your company's documents. Here's an honest comparison.

🪟

Microsoft Copilot

General productivity assistant integrated into Microsoft 365. Helps with emails, meeting summaries, document formatting, and general writing across your Microsoft ecosystem. Fantastic for day-to-day productivity.

🎯

Bidara

Purpose-built exclusively for RFP response generation. Learns from your past proposals, understands RFP requirements, pulls your specific credentials and case studies, and generates complete proposal drafts.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

See exactly how each tool performs across key capabilities

Feature	Bidara	Copilot
Purpose-built for RFP responses	✓Core function	General assistant
Trained on YOUR past proposals	✓Upload once, use forever	Limited context window
Automatic RFP requirement analysis	✓Built-in	Manual only
Complete proposal generation	✓Full document	Section-by-section help
Pulls from company knowledge base	✓Automatic retrieval	SharePoint search only
Requirement compliance tracking	✓Yes	No
Microsoft 365 integration	Export to Word	✓Deep integration
Email & meeting assistance	Not included	✓Core feature
Starting price	$499/mo	$30/user/mo
Setup time	1 hour	✓Immediate

Where Microsoft Copilot Excels

Copilot is genuinely excellent for these use cases

🔗

Microsoft 365 Integration

Copilot works seamlessly across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. If you live in Microsoft 365 and want AI assistance for everyday productivity, Copilot delivers real value.

✍️

General Writing Assistance

Need to rewrite a paragraph for tone, summarize meeting notes, or draft a quick email? Copilot handles everyday business writing tasks well. It's a solid assistant for the 90% of work that isn't specialized.

🔒

Enterprise Security

Built on Microsoft's enterprise infrastructure with your organization's existing security policies, data governance, and compliance frameworks. IT departments trust it because it's Microsoft.

Where Copilot Falls Short for RFP Responses

General productivity AI wasn't built for specialized proposal work

📋

No RFP Understanding

Copilot doesn't understand RFP structure, evaluation criteria, compliance requirements, or requirement matrices. It's a writing assistant, not an RFP analyzer.

Bidara solution: Bidara automatically analyzes RFPs, extracts requirements, identifies evaluation criteria, and maps them to your capabilities.

🧠

Limited Company Knowledge

Copilot can reference SharePoint documents, but it doesn't "learn" from your past proposals. Each proposal starts from scratch—no institutional memory of how your company wins.

Bidara solution: Bidara ingests your entire proposal history once, then automatically pulls relevant case studies, team bios, and methodologies for every new RFP.

📄

Section-by-Section Manual Process

Copilot in Word can help write individual sections, but you still manage the entire workflow manually—creating outlines, prompting for each section, assembling everything yourself.

Bidara solution: Bidara generates the complete proposal structure automatically. Upload RFP → Review sections → Export to Word. Done in 30 minutes.

⚙️

No Proposal Workflow Management

Copilot is a writing assistant, not a proposal management platform. No requirement tracking, team assignments, version control, or compliance checking.

Bidara solution: Bidara includes the full proposal lifecycle: RFP upload, requirement tracking, automated generation, team collaboration, and export.

Real-World Scenario: 50-Page Government RFP

See the actual workflow difference when responding to a complex RFP

🪟 With Microsoft Copilot

1.Manually read 50-page RFP, highlight requirements
2.Create Word document with section structure
3.Search SharePoint for relevant past proposals
4.Copy-paste requirement text into each section
5.Prompt Copilot to draft response for Section 1
6.Review, edit, add company-specific details
7.Repeat steps 5-6 for 15-20 more sections
8.Manually verify all requirements addressed
9.Format, proofread, finalize

Total time: 20-25 hours

🎯 With Bidara

1.Upload RFP PDF (Bidara auto-analyzes requirements)
2.Review automatically generated section outline
3.Click "Generate Proposal" (AI pulls from your knowledge base)
4.Review first draft with your company's actual credentials
5.Edit sections that need customization
6.Team members review/approve assigned sections
7.Export to Word/PDF for final formatting

Total time: 2-3 hours

Save 20+ hours per proposal

That's 80%+ time savings on every complex RFP response

Can You Use Both Together?

Yes! Many Bidara customers use both tools in their workflow:

Bidara generates the proposal

Upload RFP, get complete first draft with your company's credentials and past work

Export to Word

Bidara outputs to Microsoft Word format for final editing

Use Copilot for polish

In Word, use Copilot to refine sentences, adjust tone, or rewrite specific paragraphs

Best of both worlds: Bidara handles the heavy lifting (RFP analysis + complete proposal generation), Copilot handles final polish and Microsoft 365 integration.

Which Should You Choose?

The right tool depends on your proposal volume and complexity

Choose Microsoft Copilot if:

✓You respond to < 5 RFPs per year
✓Proposals are simple (< 10 pages)
✓You want general Microsoft 365 productivity gains
✓Budget is under $100/month
✓You're already paying for Microsoft 365 E3/E5

Choose Bidara if:

✓You respond to 10+ RFPs per year
✓Proposals are complex (20-100+ pages)
✓Government/enterprise RFPs with strict requirements
✓Your team spends 20+ hours per proposal
✓You need AI trained on your specific past work
✓Win rate and speed-to-response are critical

Transparent Pricing

Bidara pays for itself after your first proposal

Starter

$499/month

For small teams

10 AI-generated proposals/month
Up to 5 team members
Knowledge base (100 documents)Upload past proposals, case studies, and company docs to train the AI on your writing style and methodology
Qualification tracking & alertsAI automatically extracts certifications, insurance, and licenses from your documents. Get alerts before they expire so you never miss a bid.
Basic analytics
Email support (24-hour response)

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Professional

$999/month

For growing teams

30 AI-generated proposals/month
Up to 10 team members
Knowledge base (500 documents)Upload past proposals, case studies, and company docs to train the AI on your writing style and methodology
Qualification tracking & alertsAI automatically extracts certifications, insurance, and licenses from your documents. Get alerts before they expire so you never miss a bid.
Advanced collaboration features
Priority email support (4-hour response)

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Enterprise

Custom

For large organizations

Unlimited AI-generated proposals
Unlimited team members
Unlimited knowledge baseUpload past proposals, case studies, and company docs to train the AI on your writing style and methodology
Qualification tracking & alertsAI automatically extracts certifications, insurance, and licenses from your documents. Get alerts before they expire so you never miss a bid.
Dedicated account manager
Custom integrations
SSO / SAML
Phone support

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about using Bidara vs Microsoft Copilot

The Bottom Line

Microsoft Copilot is an excellent general productivity tool for everyday Microsoft 365 work. If you're responding to occasional simple RFPs and already have Copilot, it can help with writing assistance.

But if proposals are a core part of your business—if you're bidding on contracts worth $100K+ and spending 20-30 hours per RFP—you need purpose-built proposal AI that understands RFPs, learns from your past wins, and generates complete drafts automatically. That's Bidara.

See Bidara in Action

Watch how teams generate proposals in minutes, not weeks

See How Purpose-Built RFP AI Compares

Upload your past proposals and generate your first complete draft in 30 minutes. Works alongside your Microsoft stack.

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No credit card required • Works alongside your Microsoft stack

Bidara vs Microsoft Copilot:RFP Specialist vs Productivity Assistant