Winning go-to-market teams investing in both AI and people

BEAVERTON, Ore.: Responsive, the global leader in AI-powered Strategic Response Management (SRM) software, in partnership with the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), today released Winning Business in the Age of AI: UK & European Market Trends. B2B buyer expectations are continuing to rise with prospective customers expecting faster, crisper responses from potential vendors. Winning go-to-market teams are increasingly leveraging AI-powered solutions, including AI agents, to respond quickly and effectively, thereby growing their businesses faster.

Based on a survey of revenue leaders and practitioners across the region, the report highlights both progress and pressure. Bid and proposal teams are increasingly seen as pivotal revenue drivers (86%) and strategic business partners (79%). However, these teams are bidding into a tougher market, marked by tight deadlines, strict approval processes, and buyers who are increasingly demanding, informed, and risk-conscious.

“AI is fundamentally changing how revenue teams operate,” said Daniel Tscharner, Head of Bid Management at Swisscom. “We’re starting to see what’s possible when knowledge is no longer trapped in silos and AI agents help coordinate work across the entire pursuit. It’s early days, but the potential to shift how we qualify, collaborate, and win is enormous — and we’re building the foundation now.”

“What we’re seeing across revenue teams in the UK and Europe is not a race to adopt AI for adoption’s sake, but a thoughtful shift in how organisations align people, process, and technology—redefining roles, rethinking workflows, and embracing knowledge democratization to drive smarter, more scalable growth," said Responsive CEO, Ganesh Shankar. "Bid and proposal management is evolving from a reactive function to competitive advantage, and AI is no longer a future ambition; it’s a present-day priority for today's most successful revenue and response teams."

Key findings include:

• Revenue teams are increasingly under pressure: 4 in 5 organisations feel increased pressure from buyer autonomy, tighter budgets, and faster turnaround expectations. Buyer reliance on self-guided research and delayed vendor engagement provides less opportunity for vendor influence and differentiation in the purchase experience. In the UK, 39% say greater buyer autonomy is significantly impacting outcomes.
• Gaps remain in knowledge democratization: Only one-third of organisations report full implementation of core SRM capabilities like a centralised hub of reusable content (34%) and organisation-wide access to knowledge (36%), a critical shortfall given that accessible knowledge is the foundation for AI effectiveness, cross-functional alignment, and deal-critical responses.
• Adoption is accelerating: 78% of UK organizations increased tech spend, and over half of all organizations are piloting or planning AI use in key revenue functions. Only 21% have fully deployed and 27% are testing AI agents, signaling a thoughtful, deliberate approach.
• Bid teams are stepping into the spotlight: Most organisations view bid and proposal teams as direct and significant contributors to revenue (86%) and strategic business partners (79%).
  • In the UK, those teams are more likely to be well-resourced (79% versus 60%) and report higher job satisfaction (86% versus 52%) than their EU peers.
  • Over half of UK organizations increased headcount for bid teams last year—outpacing EU counterparts by more than 20 percentage points.
  • In the UK, 78% of organisations have increased technology spend compared to the rest of Europe (60%).
  • 71% of respondents say the role of bid and proposal professionals needs to evolve in response to AI.

Download the full Winning Business in the Age of AI: EU/UK Market Trends Report for more insights on what separates top EU/UK B2B teams in the age of AI.

About Responsive

Responsive is the global leader in Strategic Response Management (SRM) software, transforming how organizations share and exchange critical information. The AI-driven Responsive Platform is purpose-built to manage strategic responses at scale, empowering companies worldwide to accelerate growth, mitigate risk, and improve employee experiences. More than 2000 companies have standardized on Responsive to democratize organizational knowledge and respond to RFPs, RFIs, DDQs, ESGs, security questionnaires, ad hoc information requests, and more. Responsive is registered in Portland, OR, with additional offices in Kansas City, MO, Dallas, TX, Dublin, IR, and Coimbatore, India. Learn more at responsive.io.

Fonte: Business Wire