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Getting Started in Shred.ai

Written by CJ Teeter

Overview

See below for a short, practical guide to help you capture value in your first days.

1) Upload past proposals (50–200 to start)

Why this matters

Every proposal you add becomes searchable source material for future pursuits. A solid starter set helps AI surface better examples and language right away.

How many should we upload? Start with 50–200 proposals so search and chat have enough context; keep adding weekly as you work on new pursuits.

This is often a good place to start:

  • Your most recent proposals (last 12–24 months)

  • Proposals from the sectors you’re working on now (e.g., healthcare, civic)

  • Best‑in‑class proposals—won or lost—that you often reference

How to upload

  1. Go to Proposal Library → Upload.

  2. Drag‑and‑drop your PDF file.

Tips

  • Start with 50–200 files so search and chat have enough context to work with.

  • Give files clear names so they’re easier to scan in lists.

  • Mark proposals Won/Lost/Pending to help with future reporting.

2) Engage your Proposal Library with AI Search & Chat

Two ways to find what you need

  • Search: You’re hunting for key terms, phrases, or people across your proposal library. Run a search and you’ll get an AI Summary of what’s in your documents, plus specific proposal results to open and review. Start Search from the homepage or the left toolbar.

  • AI Chat: Think of it like sitting down with a colleague who knows your entire proposal library (and your RFP) over coffee. Ask questions, compare examples, and draft new content. AI Chat can be used on its own or as a continuation from a Search.

Quickstart

A) Search

  1. Open Search from the left toolbar (magnifying glass) or from your homepage.

  2. Type your query (e.g., "North Carolina licensed architect", "stakeholder engagement strategy").

  3. You'll see full text results in specific

  4. Review the AI Overview for a library‑wide summary.

    1. You can then dive deeper with AI Chat, or check out full‑text results below.l

B) AI Chat

  1. Click the AI Chat icon (sparkling star, bottom‑right).

  2. Ask a natural question.

  3. Read the answer with source references, then refine with follow‑ups (e.g., "show the exact wording", "only 2024").

  4. If you opened Chat while viewing an RFP, choose whether to include that RFP or talk to your library only.

Tips:

  • Don’t start over - ask follow‑ups.

  • Recent chats are saved so you can pick up later.

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