Humans at the Helm: Guiding AI in Proposal Management

A Replay and Deeper Dive from a Sold-Out NERC 2026 Session 🚀

Missed one of the most talked-about—and sold-out—sessions at the 2026 SMPS Northeast Regional Conference? Now’s your chance to continue the conversation. 🎯

Building on the ideas introduced in From Rush-more to Rush-less: Shaping the Future of Proposal Management, this SMPS-NY virtual program expands the discussion with a deeper exploration of how AI is transforming proposal management - and why human insight remains at the center of the profession’s future. 🤖 + 👥

AEC proposal managers are on their heels. While they continue hearing, “AI won’t replace proposal managers; it will give them more time to do meaningful work,” many are still asking what that means for their careers, their value, and the profession as a whole.

After decades spent humanizing AEC marketing, proposal professionals now have an opportunity to leverage AI’s elimination of repetitive tasks to demonstrate even greater strategic impact. This session explores how. 💡

Presenters Jen McGovern and Jeffrey Taub bring complementary perspectives from opposing sides - large vs. small firms, passenger vs. driver in adopting AI proposal development tools, and proposal-centric teams vs. broader corporate marketing teams - to offer practical insight for marketers navigating ongoing or proposed AI implementation.

While recent SMPS conferences have taken a broad look at artificial intelligence, this program narrows the focus to its impact on a specific and increasingly critical AEC marketing role. 🎯

Through the lens of responsiveness, quality, strategy, and creativity, attendees will explore how proposal managers can move beyond adapting to AI—and begin shaping what comes next. ⚙️✨

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

✅ Understand the impact AI proposal development platforms are having on proposal managers’ time constraints and workflows

✅ Learn new ways to infuse proposals with strategy and creativity while AI supports responsiveness and quality

✅ Prepare for the rapid expansion of AI capabilities by developing a personal “pipeline” for future skill growth

✅ Identify impactful contributions proposal managers can make within and beyond proposal submissions

Whether you attended the original NERC presentation or missed it entirely, this program offers fresh perspective, practical takeaways, and a continuation of one of the conference’s most timely conversations.

For a preview of the event, be sure to check out Jen and Jeffrey's recap of their NERC panel on our blog here.

Participants will be eligible for 1.0 CEU towards CPSM.

Join us May 21^st and help keep humans at the helm. 🌟

Photography Notice: This event may be photographed or recorded. By attending, you grant SMPS-NY and the event host permission to capture, use, edit, and publish photos or video of you for lawful promotional purposes, including advertising and web/social media.