Answered with sources
Sourced (%) =
answers with linked source recordstotal answers× 100
Shows how often users can verify the response. Aim to keep it high and review those without sources.
AI agentPlatform
AI procurement copilot agent
An AI procurement copilot is an assistant that lets people ask questions in plain language about spend, policy, contracts and requests, and returns answers drawn from procurement records.
- People stay in control
- Every action is logged
- Start with a small sample
Spend and invoice data
Contracts and order forms
Procurement policy documents
Purchase requests and statuses
AI procurement copilot agentPrepared for review
- ✓Plain-language answers with sources
- ✓Summaries of documents and contracts
- ✓Pointers to the right owner or form
Handed toRequesters receive a route to submit a proper request
4inputs it reads
6steps in the walkthrough
2points where a person decides
3outputs it prepares
See it run
Agent Record PersonWatch it work
Live walkthrough
- 1User asksPerson
- 2Read intentAgent
- 3Check accessRecord
- 4Search sourcesAgent
- 5Compose answerAgent
- 6User actsPerson
A person types a question about spend, policy or a contract.
The agent works out which records and documents are relevant.
Permissions decide which spend and documents the user may see.
It queries spend data and searches contracts and policy text.
The reply cites its sources and states what it could not find.
The user checks the sources and decides whether to act.
The basics
What is an AI procurement copilot agent?
The procurement copilot takes questions in plain language and answers from your own records. It turns a spend question into a query and shows the filters used, explains thresholds and approval rules from policy documents, finds the contract, clause or record asked about, and summarises a request's status. It reads spend and invoice data, contracts, policies, approvals and the vendor repository.
Read the full explanation
Each answer links back to the records behind it so users can check it. Users verify important figures before acting, policy owners keep documents current, and approvers still decide requests. The copilot approves, orders and edits nothing. It answers only within the asker's access rights, and questions and sources are logged.
Where it breaks
What this agent does
Each task below is something the agent prepares, checks, drafts or routes, with a person keeping the decision.
It turns a question into the right query over spend data and returns the result with the filters it used.
It answers questions about thresholds, approvals and process from your own policy documents.
It finds the relevant contract, clause or record and quotes where it came from.
It summarises a request's status, points to the next step and drafts routine updates.
Each answer links back to the records behind it, so users can check it.
The path
Reads, decides, does
- 01Reads
Spend and invoice data, contracts, policy documents, request and approval records, and the vendor repository, within the user's access rights.
- 02Decides
What the question means, which source answers it, and how to present the result with its assumptions.
- 03Does
Retrieves, summarises and explains. It does not approve requests, place orders or edit contracts.
- 04Natural language spend query specialist
Turns questions into spend lookups and summaries.
- 05Policy Q&A specialist
Answers process and policy questions from approved documents.
- 06Document search specialist
Finds contracts, clauses and records across the repository.
- 07Procurement operations specialist
Helps with status checks and routine operational tasks.
Want to see this flow on your own items?
Book a demoBring a small sample and watch Flo work through it.
Under the hood
Inside the work
| Aspect | By hand | With the agent |
|---|---|---|
| Finding an answer | People email procurement or search folders and wait for a reply. | Plain-language questions return an answer drawn from records in one step. |
| Policy queries | Staff guess at the rules or read long policy documents. | The relevant policy passage is quoted and explained with its source. |
| Contract lookups | Finding a clause means opening files and searching by hand. | Clauses and dates are surfaced with a link back to the document. |
| Analyst load | Analysts field simple data requests all week. | Routine spend questions are answered directly, leaving complex work to analysts. |
| Trust | Answers come without sources, so people repeat them uncertainly. | Each answer shows where it came from and what it could not find. |
| If | Then | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| A question asks about data the user cannot access | Declines and says access is restricted | Administrator controls access |
| Sources conflict or are out of date | Shows both and says which is newer | Policy owner resolves the conflict |
| The answer is not in any record | Says it does not know instead of inventing one | User asks the right team |
| A user asks it to approve or buy | Explains it cannot and points to the proper request route | Requester follows the process |
| A question needs deep analysis | Offers a summary and suggests passing the work to an analyst | Analyst takes it on |
| A policy question touches a legal matter | Gives the policy text and refers the user to the owner | Legal or policy owner advises |
Reads
- Spend and invoice data
- Contracts and order forms
- Procurement policy documents
- Purchase requests and statuses
Produces
- Plain-language answers with sources
- Summaries of documents and contracts
- Pointers to the right owner or form
Hands over to
- Requesters receive a route to submit a proper request
- Analysts receive complex questions with context
- Policy owners receive questions the documents could not answer
Ambiguous question
The agent asks a short follow-up, for example which period or entity is meant, before answering. The user clarifies so the answer is not based on a guess.
Policy has changed recently
The agent uses the current version it holds and shows its date. The policy owner is responsible for keeping that version up to date.
Sensitive contract terms
Access rules decide who may see them, and the agent respects those rules. Contract owners decide who should have access.
User relies on the answer for a decision
The agent reminds them to confirm with the source for anything consequential. The user and the approver remain accountable.
- Employee or requester
- Asks questions, checks the sources and follows the proper process to act.
- Procurement analyst
- Handles deeper analysis and reviews questions the agent could not answer.
- Policy owner
- Keeps policy documents current so answers are accurate.
- System administrator
- Sets who can see which data and reviews how the assistant is used.
People and control
What stays with people
- ✓Users verify before actingThe answer is a guide, and important figures should be checked against the source.
- ✓Policy owners keep guidance currentThe copilot is only as accurate as the policy documents it reads.
- ✓Approvers decideA policy explanation does not replace an approval.
- ✓Administrators control accessWhat a person can ask about follows their permissions.
- ✓Analysts handle complex analysisDeeper work and judgement calls go to the team.
Signs you would benefit
- •The same questions return dailyProcurement answers policy and status queries by hand.
- •People cannot find documentsContracts and policies sit in folders few know how to search.
- •Analysts do simple pullsSkilled time goes on lookups instead of analysis.
- •Guidance is inconsistentDifferent staff give different answers to the same policy question.
Not sure where AI procurement copilot agent fits in your process?
Talk it through with the team. We will map it to your steps and show where a person stays in control.
- Works from a sample of your real items
- Shows what Flo handles and what it hands over
- No commitment to start
Rollout
Rolling it out
- 1Pilot group
Start with the procurement team, who can judge whether answers are right.
- 2Tune the sources
Fix outdated policy files and gaps the pilot exposes before wider use.
- 3Open to requesters
Offer it to business users for policy and status questions, with access rules applied.
- 4Review questions
Read the questions it could not answer each month to improve content and set its boundaries.
The numbersMetric 1 Metric 2 Metric 3
How to measure it
Set your own baseline first. We do not publish benchmarks without a source you can check.Deflected routine questions
Deflection (%) =
questions resolved without procurement stafftotal questions× 100
Indicates how much routine load the copilot takes. Sample answers for accuracy before relying on the figure.
Follow-up rate
Follow-up (%) =
conversations needing a second question or staff helptotal conversations× 100
A high rate can mean unclear answers or missing source material.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to what people ask most about AI procurement copilot agent.
Book a demoWhat is a procurement copilot?
It is a conversational assistant for procurement information. Users ask about spend, policy, contracts or requests in plain language and get answers with sources. It supports decisions; it does not make them.
Can it approve a request or place an order?
No. It can explain the process and show where a request stands. Approvals and purchases are done by the people with that authority.
How does it avoid showing people data they should not see?
It works within each user's existing access rights, so a question only draws on records that person is permitted to view. Administrators manage those permissions.
How accurate are the answers?
They depend on the quality of the underlying data and documents. Answers carry their sources and assumptions so users can check them, and unclear questions are met with a clarifying prompt.
Related AI agent pages
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→AI MCP procurement agent
An AI MCP procurement agent is a connector that exposes procurement data and functions to AI assistants through the Model Context Protocol, a standard way for AI tools to reach external systems.
→AI natural language spend query agent
A natural language spend query is a question about spending asked in everyday words rather than through reports or filters.
→AI procurement policy Q&A agent
Procurement policy Q&A is answering employees' questions about purchasing rules, such as who must approve a purchase or when a quote is needed.
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- Every action is logged
- Start with a small sample
