Allow AI Proposal Builder to Use Existing Custom Parts
John Mercer
We use Portal to create residential audio-video prewire proposals and have built an extensive library of Custom Parts for our standard installations.
Currently, the AI Proposal Builder does a good job creating rooms, descriptions, and quantities from a detailed project specification. However, it cannot select our existing Custom Parts when generating the proposal.
For example, when we specify our custom "Speaker Location Prewire Per Pair (16-4)," the AI substitutes bulk speaker cable or unrelated manufacturer products instead of selecting our complete prewire assembly. The same problem occurs with TV prewires, Control4 touchscreens, access points, security cameras, and other custom items.
This requires us to manually replace products throughout the proposal, which significantly increases the time required to prepare a bid.
Requested functionality:
- Allow the AI Proposal Builder to search and select existing company Custom Parts when generating proposals.
- Prioritize exact Custom Part name matches over generic manufacturer products.
- Preserve the Custom Part's pricing, accessories, and associated labor.
- Allow users to specify exact Custom Part names and quantities in an uploaded or pasted project specification.
- If the AI cannot confidently match a Custom Part, provide a selectable placeholder or replacement option rather than automatically substituting an unrelated product.
Ideally, companies could enable a setting such as
"Prioritize My Custom Parts in AI Proposals."
This would make the AI Proposal Builder significantly more useful for AV integrators and contractors who rely on standardized assemblies rather than individual materials.
We appreciate the new Templates feature, but having the AI Builder work directly with our Custom Parts would allow us to combine AI-generated room layouts and descriptions with our established pricing and installation assemblies.