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Creating a proposal in Google Docs

If your team works in Google Workspace, a proposal can be generated straight into a Google Doc. You stay in Google Docs to write and review; SiftHub tracks the sections, statuses and collaboration alongside it in the project.

If you would rather work in SiftHub's own editor, see Creating a proposal in the Web App.

Before you start

  • The SiftHub Browser Extension installed, and you signed in.
  • A Google Doc to generate into — either a blank one or a copy of your template. See the warning below about using a copy.
  • The solicitation or RFP document. SiftHub reads it to work out what the proposal has to cover.
  • Deal context — call notes, discovery notes, anything that says what this buyer actually cares about.

Important: SiftHub writes into the document you link

SiftHub generates the proposal directly into the Google Doc whose link you paste. It does not create a separate copy for you.

Always link a copy of your template, never your master template. In Google Docs, open your template and choose File > Make a copy, then link the copy. Otherwise your house template will be overwritten with this deal's content.

The same applies to the blank-document path: create the blank Google Doc first, then link it.

Granting SiftHub access to the document

SiftHub needs read and write access to the Google Doc so it can read the structure and write the proposal into it. If access has not already been granted, a setup step appears with SiftHub's service-account email address.

  1. Copy the SiftHub email address shown, then click Share in the top right of the Google Doc.
  2. Paste the address into the Share window and give it Editor access.
  3. Return to SiftHub and continue.

Complete the access step before continuing, or generation will fail on insufficient permissions.

Note: The Google Doc should sit in your My Drive, because Shared Drive settings often block external access. 

See Autofill in Google Docs for the full access-setup walkthrough — the steps are identical.

Starting the proposal

Go to Projects and click Create Project. Under the document upload area, click Create proposal from template/blank document, then choose Fill a template or Start with a blank document.

Fill a template

Paste the link to your template in the Google Doc template link field and click Continue. SiftHub reads the template's headings and structure, and generates into it.

If your workspace has templates configured, this step opens on a Template library tab instead — pick one from the list, or switch to New template to paste a link.

To work in SiftHub's editor rather than Google Docs, click Upload template instead and upload a .docx.

Start with a blank document

Create an empty Google Doc, then paste its link into the Blank Google Doc link field. SiftHub builds the whole structure itself from the buyer's requirements.

To let SiftHub create the document inside its own editor instead, click Create in the web app instead.

What makes a good template

  • Use real heading styles rather than manually bolding and enlarging text. SiftHub reads the heading hierarchy to understand your section structure and to format what it writes.
  • Leave sections empty, or use an obvious placeholder where you want SiftHub to write.
  • Leave content in place where you want it kept — legal terms, standard SLAs, your company description.
  • Use placeholders such as [Client] where you want deal-specific details filled in.

Adding project context

Once the document is linked, the Project context window opens. This is the highest-leverage step in the flow.

Supporting documents

Upload or link everything relevant to this deal. You can drag files in, browse for them, or paste a link to a file in Drive. Supported formats are .txt, .pdf and .docx, up to 20 files.

The most important one is the solicitation or requirements document — the RFP itself. SiftHub identifies it automatically from what you attach; you do not tag it. It is what tells SiftHub which sections the proposal needs and what each one has to address.

Beyond that, attach call notes, the buyer's own materials, and any prior correspondence about this deal. Facts from these documents take precedence over your general knowledge base.

Instructions

A single free-text field that overrides everything else. Use it for anything SiftHub could not work out from the documents — sections to skip or keep, tone and length, how answers should be written, facts about this deal, named people or dates.

Formal tone. The buyer's main concern is answer accuracy and governance — address both directly. Keep the Executive Summary under 300 words.

Answer settings and sources

Back on the Create Project page, the document row carries three controls, identical to the Web App flow.

  • Instructions — the same instructions field again, so you can revise it without reopening Project context.
  • Sources — choose which connected sources and Collections SiftHub draws on. Worth restricting to your Q&A Repository and a vetted Collection for compliance-heavy bids.
  • Settings — output language, generation mode and length, plus two context toggles under Advanced: Supporting documents context (on by default — leave it on) and Deal context from connected sources, which pulls from your CRM, call recordings and Slack.

Creating the project

Fill in the project details. Name, Owner, Delivery manager, Priority and Account name are required — Account name sits further down under Deal information and is easy to miss. Then click Create.

What happens next

SiftHub creates the project and starts generating immediately. Two things happen at once.

The proposal is written into your Google Doc. Open the document and you can watch it fill in, section by section, as generation completes. You do not need to wait for the whole document before you start reading.

SiftHub generates a project plan. An AI suggestions window appears while the proposal fills, analysing your project documents to extract milestones, required documents and recommended documents for the submission. This takes a few minutes. Click View later to dismiss it — you are notified when it is ready, and you can reopen it from Suggestions at the top of the project.

Meanwhile, the project's Overview tab fills in — a generated summary of the RFP, the primary document, and a Section / Question Progress panel that tracks every section and question as your team works through them.

How SiftHub writes the proposal

The generation pipeline is the same one used in SiftHub's editor. In short, SiftHub:

  1. Reads your template's structure — what sections exist, what is already written in them, and how they are formatted.
  2. Reads the solicitation and extracts what the buyer is asking for, section by section, plus every individual question or requirement.
  3. Maps requirements to sections. Where the buyer asks for something your template has no home for, SiftHub adds a new section.
  4. Writes each section response — grounded in your instructions first, then the deal documents, then the solicitation, then how your company has written that kind of section before, then your knowledge base.
  5. Handles template content that is already there. Empty sections and placeholders are written from scratch; content with obvious personalisation signals is rewritten for this deal; settled boilerplate such as legal terms is left alone. When the signals are mixed, SiftHub leaves your content as it is.
  6. Answers the questions the same way it answers a questionnaire, with sources cited.
  7. Formats everything to match your template's fonts, colours and heading styles.

For the full explanation, including how to override any of this from the Instructions field and a worked example, see Creating a proposal in the Web App.

Where to go next

Once generation finishes, see Working on a proposal in Google Docs for reviewing responses, checking sources, and collaborating with your team.