Biddie

Open Biddie

The round button with Biddie's face, bottom right of every page, opens your own conversation with her.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space, where Biddie is on. She is on unless she has been switched off for your space, and she is hidden while a space is paused.

Where it is

The round button with Biddie's face, bottom right of every page

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Biddie is the assistant in your space. Her button sits at the bottom right of every page and opens your own conversation with her, across every bid in the space. She knows how your bids stand and can get work moving; sending, submitting and approving stay with you.

Step by step

1. Press the round button with Biddie's face at the bottom right.
2. The panel opens: on a wide screen as a card above the button, on a phone over the whole screen.
3. Type in the box (Ask a question or give an instruction…) and press Send, or tap one of the questions under Try asking.
4. To answer one of her messages in particular, press ↩ Reply on it first.
5. Close the panel with ✕ in its header. On the web, Escape closes it too.

What you see

• The header: her face, "Biddie" and a status line: "Ready when you are", "On it…" while she works, "All done — have a look" when she has finished, "Listening — I'm all ears" and "Speaking…".
• Try asking, while your conversation is empty: "What's waiting on me?", "How are the live bids?", "What closes in the next two weeks?" and "Anything I should worry about?"
• The very first time, the panel opens by itself with her welcome: what she can do, and that sending, submitting and approving stay with you.
• A red dot on the button when she has written since you last looked, and sometimes a greeting beside it, for example "Good morning, Sam! Anything I can get moving?" Tap it to open the panel, or ✕ to dismiss it.
• While she works, her line in the thread says "Biddie is on it" with Stop.

Good to know

• Each person has their own conversation, and she remembers what you said earlier in it. She knows only your space.
• What you type stays in the box if you close the panel, until you send it.
• In the web app, Enter sends and Shift+Enter starts a new line.
• A message that was stopped or failed shows Resend to send it again as it was.
• Talking to her never counts as a bid. Only a build she starts for you counts, as it would from the bid's page.
• Whether she is on is a setting for your space. In a paused space she is hidden.

Common questions

I cannot see her button.

She is switched off for your space, or the space is paused. Ask an owner, or your Biddable contact.

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Ask Biddie how things stand

Ask about any bid, what closes soon or what is waiting on you, and Biddie answers from your space as it stands.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space, reviewers included.

Where it is

Biddie's panel

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Biddie reads your space as it stands when you ask: every live bid with its stage and closing date, what is running or waiting for an answer, drafts waiting on Approvals, and tenders waiting for a decision. Ask her about one bid and she looks at its facts and its recent runs with their results.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie.
2. Ask in your own words, for example "How is the port bid?", "What closes in the next two weeks?", "What's waiting on me?" or "Anything I should worry about?". The Try asking questions do the same.
3. Name a bid by its code (the whole code or its end, such as 2026-001) or by words from its title or client.
4. Ask a follow-up any time; she remembers the conversation.

What you see

• The answer first, in two or three sentences, or a short list when you asked about several bids.
• Bids named by code and a short title, dates written out (for example "Thursday 2 October").
• "Unknown" where she does not know, rather than a guess.
• If it is unclear which bid you mean, one short question listing the bids that match.

Good to know

• She answers from your space only: never another firm, and nothing about how the product is built.
• She does not talk about cost or spend.
• Asking never counts as a bid.
• To get work moving rather than ask about it, see Ask Biddie to start work.

Common questions

Can Biddie answer a question about a tender's documents?

Attach the documents to a message and ask (see Attach documents for Biddie), or ask the bid's agent on the bid's Build page, which reads every document in the bid.

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Ask Biddie to start work

Tell Biddie which bid and what, and she starts a triage, a build, an audit, the submission pack or an instruction.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. A reviewer can ask her anything, but she starts nothing for them.

Where it is

Biddie's panel

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

No clip for this one: Not filmed: on the machine the clips were made on, Biddie cannot start runs (a limit of the local test set-up, not of the service).

What it does

Say which bid and what you want, and Biddie hands the work to the agent that does it: a bid/no-bid triage, a full build, a red-team audit, the submission pack, or an instruction passed to the bid's own agent. She says what she started and on which bid, and reports back when you ask.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie.
2. Say which bid and what, for example "triage the port bid", "build the ministry bid", "audit 2026-001", "prepare the submission pack for the quay bid" or "ask the agent on the quay bid to shorten section 4".
3. If she asks which bid you mean, answer with its code or name.
4. To check on it, ask "how is that build going?". Once it is done she gives the result in a few lines.
5. The work also shows on the bid's own page as it runs.

What you see

• A line saying what she started, for example "Started: full build of the bid on" the bid's code and title, and that it shows on the bid's page as it works. If other work is already running on that bid, she says it waits behind it.
• While you are in the app, a short note from her when it finishes, stops or needs your answer.
• When she cannot start it, she says why.

Good to know

• She will not start anything on a bid that is won, lost, a no-bid or archived. The stage can be changed on the bid's Overview page.
• Where the triage said no-bid, she will not start a build. 2 · Build the bid on the bid's Overview page asks you to confirm it yourself.
• A build is the one thing that counts against your plan. If the bid already has a build, she says so and checks whether you want it rebuilt or an instruction passed to the bid's agent instead.
• When this month's bids are used, she passes on the app's own message, word for word.
• An instruction to the bid's agent is passed on complete, in your words, since the agent does not see your conversation with her.
• She never sends, submits or approves anything, never changes a bid's stage and never deletes anything. Preparing the submission pack never lodges the bid.
• She cannot change your rules herself: a rule change goes to the bid's agent as an instruction.

Common questions

Why did Biddie not start what I asked?

Your role may be to review only, the bid may be closed, the triage may have said no-bid, or the plan's bids for the month may be used. She says which. An owner or writer in your team can start it.

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Attach documents for Biddie

Attach documents to a message; Biddie reads them, offers to triage a new tender, or files them on their bid.

Who can use it

Owners and writers. The clip shows only for them.

Where it is

Biddie's panel: the clip beside the box; in the web app, drop files onto the box

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

No clip for this one: Not filmed: on the machine the clips were made on, Biddie cannot file attachments (a limit of the local test set-up, not of the service).

What it does

You can attach documents to anything you say to Biddie: a tender pack, an addendum, a clarification, a CV or a spreadsheet. She reads what can be read and answers from it. A new tender sent without an instruction makes her say in a few lines what it is and ask "Shall I triage it?"; files for a bid you already have are filed on that bid.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie and press the clip beside the box. In the web app you can also drop files onto the box.
2. Pick one or more files, or a zip of them. Each shows above the box with ✕ to take it off again.
3. Add what you want, for example "triage this", "file this on the port bid" or a question about the documents. You can also send the files on their own.
4. Press Send.
5. If she asks "Shall I triage it?", answer yes and the triage starts.

What you see

• Your message with each file shown by name.
• For a tender pack sent without an instruction: two or three lines on what it is (the buyer, what is being bought, the closing date if it is there) and "Shall I triage it?". On a yes, the pack goes to the Review page and its bid/no-bid triage starts.
• When you asked for the triage in the same message, she starts it without asking.
• For files that belong to a bid you have, a line saying she has filed them on it, as tender documents or as files that came in; she asks which bid only when it is unclear.
• If files in a zip were left out: "Left out of the zip:" and their names.

Good to know

• Up to 10 files in one message (a zip counts as the files in it), up to 25 MB each and 60 MB together, and a zip of up to 60 files.
• She takes PDF, Word (.docx, .dotx, .dotm, .docm), Excel (.xlsx, .xls), CSV, text or Markdown, PowerPoint (.pptx, .potx), PNG or JPG images, or a zip of those.
• Images, older .xls workbooks and scanned PDFs are kept and can be filed, but she cannot read text from them, and says so. A long document is read in part, and she says where she stopped.
• A message with files that failed cannot be resent as it was; attach the files again.
• Attaching and asking never counts as a bid. A triage never counts either.
• Files are only for Biddie in the app; the Biddie on the website takes none.

Common questions

Can a reviewer attach files?

No. The clip shows for owners and writers only; a reviewer can ask her questions.

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Talk to Biddie and hear her

Tap the microphone and speak to Biddie; she keeps her answer short and reads it aloud. The speaker switch reads every reply aloud.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

Biddie's panel: the microphone beside the box, and the speaker switch in the header (Read Biddie's replies aloud)

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

The microphone beside the box lets you speak to Biddie instead of typing. When you speak to her, she keeps her reply to a few short sentences, says bids the way a person would ("the port bid"), and reads the reply aloud. The speaker switch in her header reads every reply aloud, typed or spoken.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie and tap the microphone beside the box.
2. Speak. What she hears appears on screen as you go.
3. Stop talking, and what you said is sent. Tap the microphone again to stop early; what was heard so far is sent.
4. Listen to her reply. Tap her face in the header to stop her speaking.
5. To have every reply read aloud, tap the speaker switch in the header. Tap it again to turn it off.

What you see

• While she listens, the microphone turns red and pulses, the header says "Listening — I'm all ears", and a strip says "Listening… say what you'd like, and I'll send it when you stop." until your words appear in it.
• While she speaks: "Speaking… tap my face to stop".
• The speaker switch shows 🔈 when off and 🔊 when on.
• If something is wrong, a line in the strip, for example "The microphone is blocked. Allow it for this page (or in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone) and try again." or "No microphone was found."

Good to know

• The microphone shows only where your browser or device can turn speech into text. Some browsers cannot; there, type instead.
• Your speech is turned into text by your browser or device's own speech recognition, in British English, so allow for a misheard name or code; she asks back when she cannot make it out.
• She offers detail rather than reading it out, for example "The full list is on screen if you want it."
• The speaker switch is remembered on that device.
• Closing the panel stops her listening and speaking.
• Talking to her never counts as a bid.

Common questions

Can I turn her voice off?

Yes. Leave the speaker switch off and type to her. She reads a reply aloud only when the switch is on or when you spoke to her.

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Biddie's briefings and live notes

After a few hours away, Biddie tells you what changed; while you are in the app, she posts notes as things happen.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

Biddie's greeting beside the round button, and her panel

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

When you open the app, or come back to it, after a few hours away, Biddie writes you a briefing: what needs you first, then the good news, then one suggested next step. While you are in the app, she posts a one-line note in your conversation as things happen on your bids. Both arrive without you asking.

Step by step

1. Open the app, or come back to it after a while.
2. When a briefing is on its way, a greeting appears beside her button. When it says the briefing is ready, tap it, or press her button.
3. Read the briefing in her panel.
4. Answer her suggested next step if you want it done. She starts nothing until you say yes.

What you see

• Beside the button: "Good afternoon, Sam! Catching up on what changed since yesterday at 17:40…", then "Your briefing's ready — tap to read it."
• The briefing: a greeting and how long you have been away; what needs you, most urgent first (work waiting for your answer, work that stopped, drafts waiting on Approvals, bids closing within a week); then work that finished; then one question, for example "Want me to start the audit on the port bid?"
• When nothing has happened: a short note such as "Morning, Sam. Nothing new since yesterday at 17:40: no finished work, no replies and no new tenders.", with anything still on the list, such as drafts on Approvals or a bid closing soon.
• Live notes, one line each, for example a bid's code and "the build finished" with the gist of the result, "the audit stopped before it finished. It's on the bid's page; you can start it again there.", "is waiting for your answer", a draft "is on Approvals", or "New bid opened:" and the bid.
• A red dot on her button when a note or a briefing has arrived while the panel was closed.

Good to know

• The very first time, she opens with her welcome and then says where things stand now.
• Notes go to everyone in the space who is in the app at the time. What happens while you are away is covered by your briefing when you return, so nothing is told twice.
• Briefings and notes never count as a bid.
• She suggests only steps your role lets you take, and never starts anything from a briefing on her own.

Common questions

I came back and got no briefing.

A briefing comes after a few hours away. Within that, ask her "what's changed?".

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Ask Biddie about your library

Ask Biddie what your library holds on a topic, or ask her to keep something in it for an owner or writer to approve.

Who can use it

Everyone can ask what the library holds. Owners and writers can ask her to keep something.

Where it is

Biddie's panel

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Ask Biddie "what do we have on X?" and she answers from your library's approved entries: answers, case studies, CVs, certificates and insurances, boilerplate. Ask her to keep something, a paragraph you wrote or a certificate's details, and she adds it to the library's To review list. She can never approve it.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie.
2. Ask, for example, "What do we have on asset management?" or "Which of our certificates are expiring?".
3. To keep something, say so: "keep this paragraph in the library as our standard answer on quality", with the text. For a certificate or insurance, give its issuer, number and expiry date.
4. An owner or writer then approves it on the Library page, under To review.

What you see

• Each matching entry by its title and kind, with its gist in a line. A certificate or insurance is said to be valid, expiring soon or expired.
• When nothing matches, she says so and that you can add an entry on the Library page.
• When she keeps something, a line saying it now waits in To review for an owner or writer to approve. On the Library page it shows "Suggested by Biddie for" your name.

Good to know

• Only approved entries count. Proposals and retired entries are never in her answers.
• Something already in the library under the same kind and title is not added again; she tells you.
• For a reviewer she looks things up, but adds nothing.
• Nothing she adds is used in a bid until a person approves it.

Common questions

Can Biddie approve what she adds?

No. Only an owner or writer approves library entries, on the Library page.

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Ask Biddie how to do something

Ask Biddie "how do I…?" or what something means, and she answers from this guide, naming the page and the button.

Who can use it

Everyone in the space.

Where it is

Biddie's panel

In

The web app, and the phone, tablet and desktop app

What it does

Ask Biddie how to do something in Biddable, what a page or a word means, or where to find something, and she looks it up in this guide and answers from it in a few lines, in the guide's own words for pages and buttons. She does not answer such questions from her own idea of how the app works.

Step by step

1. Open Biddie.
2. Ask, for example, "How do I invite a colleague?", "What does Ready with gaps mean?" or "Where do I sign a form?".
3. Follow the steps she gives.

What you see

• Two to five short lines: the steps, the page and the button to press.
• If nothing in the guide fits, she says so and names the guide's topics, so you can ask again or open Help.

Good to know

• Looking help up starts nothing and never counts as a bid.
• She answers in your space's own product name.
• The same guide is on the Help page of the app.

Common questions

Biddie's answer did not match what I see.

The guide describes the app as it is today. Tell your Biddable contact which page and button, so it can be put right.

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