VisibleThread 7 is a full bid and proposal platform, from opportunity identification to submitted response. It has a redesigned interface and simpler workflows.
The upgrade is included in your subscription at no extra cost, and you go straight to the current version, 7.3. Support for VT Docs ends on December 31, 2026. After that date there are no more security patches, bug fixes or enhancements for VT Docs. For now, the VT Docs interface is still available under Legacy > VT Docs in the left navigation.
What you get by upgrading
Opportunity Search and Best-Fit Scoring
Search SAM.gov, GSA eBuy and UK Find a Tender opportunities in one place, with filters and saved searches. Each opportunity is scored against your organization's profile, including agency, NAICS code, set-aside and notice type, so you can sort the opportunities by best fit.
Tracked opportunities and proposals can be managed as a visual pipeline rather than a list. Kanban boards have configurable stages, and card details show the information capture managers need at a glance, including estimated value. A timeline view shows proposal and tracked opportunity stages with deadlines plotted.
Stage gates let you define gate questions per stage. Soft gates prompt on a card move but allow it, and hard gates block the move until answered. Every response is recorded as audit history.
Proposal Development and Management
Users can be assigned to opportunities, proposals and contracts from the Kanban card, the list view or the detail view. In-app notifications cover assignments, approaching deadlines, comment activity and changes to an assigned outline document. Threaded comments and @mentions work on Proposal Outline sections.
The Proposal Outline is built around requirement traceability, so you can see at a glance which requirements each section answers and where coverage is missing. You can assign users to outline sections and set section status, with both cascading to sub-sections.
A trace indicator shows which sections carry traced requirements, with a details drawer for the requirement itself and the source text alongside. The Coverage tab gives reverse traceability from a requirement to every section answering it.
Visi and Collections
Visi, the AI assistant, drafts content from your own material. You can ground an answer on the document you are working in or on a Collection of your approved content, and each part of the answer links to its source so you can check it. You can then insert the answer straight into your document.
Collections are groups of documents you choose, so Visi only draws on content you have approved. The Prompt Library lets your team save and reuse prompts.
Data-Driven Content Creation and Quality Management
Writers can run VisibleThread from inside Word, on the live document, instead of uploading a copy to the web app and switching back and forth. Readability and language analysis runs on the live document, and rephrase and simplify suggestions are applied directly into the document. Visi is available in the panel, including Creator mode for drafting, with citations you can open and download.
An Outline tab shows the proposal outline and lets writers pick the section they are writing. Headings added in Word flow back into the Proposal Outline in the web app. You can upload and manage a library of Word templates. Your own headers, footers, bullet styles and automatic heading numbering carry through to every generated document, and Watchword lists keep content in your style and tone.
When the same document is open in Word and in the web app, VisibleThread shows who is actively editing and blocks conflicting saves rather than losing work.
Dashboards
There are three reporting areas: a BD/Capture dashboard, a Proposals dashboard, and Usage Stats in the main navigation. The Proposals dashboard gives a proposal manager a single view of how many sections are complete, in draft and not started across every live proposal.
Shredding
An improved shredding interface shows each result beside the source document so you can review it in context. You can add review markers, threaded comments and @mentions.
VT Docs features, with an updated interface
The VT Docs features you already use are still in VisibleThread 7, with an updated interface: Compare Docs, Compare Excel, the Acronym Report and readability scoring. Threaded comments and @mentions now work on Compare Docs results and Acronym Report entries.
Example: Compare Docs
Using AI in VisibleThread 7
AI is optional. VisibleThread 7 does not include an AI model. Only the AI assisted capabilities, namely outline generation, requirement classification and Visi drafting, need you to connect your own provider, such as Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock or LiteLLM, which comes with its own infrastructure or usage costs. Everything else, including the Word Add-in with its templates and readability analysis, is independent of generative AI and is available on the subscription you already hold. For on-premise, GovCloud and air-gapped deployments, no step in the proposal workflow requires outbound internet access. Setup guides are in AI & Integration.
How to upgrade
Your server needs 2 CPUs, 16 GB RAM and 100 GB disk. Then either:
- Book an upgrade call and we will plan the upgrade with you, or
- Follow the guide for your operating system: Windows, RHEL 8 and 9 or Ubuntu 24.04. If you upgrade yourself, email support@visiblethread.com so we know which version you are on if you ever need help.
If December 31 is tight for your team, contact us and we will plan the timing with you.