1. About this policy
This Acceptable Use Policy (the "Policy") applies to everyone who uses the BotBid service, the private demo or the public website, including customers and their authorized users. It is part of the BotBid Terms of Service. Capitalized terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Terms.
BotBid helps companies compete for public contracts. Public buyers, taxpayers and other bidders all depend on that competition being honest and fair. This Policy exists to protect them, to protect other BotBid customers, and to keep the Service safe and reliable. Breaking it can lead to suspension or termination of your account, and in serious cases we may report the conduct to the appropriate authorities.
The examples below are not a complete list. If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask us at hello@botbid.ai before you do it.
2. Lawful use only
You may not use the Service to break any law or regulation, or to help anyone else do so. This includes laws on public procurement, ethics and gifts to public officials, lobbying, false statements to government, anti-kickback, export control and sanctions, anti-discrimination, consumer protection, privacy and data protection, anti-spam and intellectual property.
3. No fraud, bid rigging or collusion
Public procurement depends on fair, independent competition. You may not use the Service to:
- agree with competitors on prices, on who will bid or win, or on dividing up customers, territories or contracts;
- submit complementary, cover or sham bids, or arrange for others to do so;
- rotate bids or suppress bidding by agreement with others;
- share or seek another bidder's confidential pricing or bid information;
- offer or give anything of value to influence a public official or evaluator;
- commit any other form of bid fraud or procurement fraud.
4. No misrepresentation to agencies
Everything you submit to an agency must be true. You may not use the Service to:
- make false or misleading statements about your company, experience, staff, licenses, insurance, bonding, finances, ownership or set-aside status;
- claim certifications, registrations or past performance you do not have;
- fabricate references, letters, quotes or documents;
- sign or apply a signature for anyone without their authority;
- impersonate any person, company or agency.
5. Respect portal and agency terms
You must follow the terms, rules and instructions of every bid portal, agency website and solicitation you use with the Service. You may not use the Service, or credentials stored in it, to get around a portal's access controls, rate limits, CAPTCHAs, payment steps or registration requirements, or to access any account you are not authorized to use.
You may not use the Service to contact agency staff during a period when the solicitation forbids contact, or through channels the solicitation does not allow.
6. No scraping or overloading BotBid
You may not:
- scrape, crawl, harvest or bulk download data from the Service, including the shared catalog of public bids, except through export tools and interfaces we provide for that purpose;
- use bots, scripts or automated tools to access the Service, other than interfaces we document for that use;
- resell, redistribute or publish the Service's catalog, scores, analysis or other output as a data product;
- place an unreasonable load on the Service, interfere with its operation, or get around usage limits, rate limits or plan limits;
- probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Service, or bypass its security or authentication, except under a written agreement with us.
7. No reverse engineering or copying
You may not reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or try to derive the source code, models, prompts or underlying structure of the Service, except to the extent the law expressly allows despite this restriction. You may not copy, frame or mirror the Service, or use it to build or improve a competing product or service.
8. No malware or harmful content
You may not upload, send or store viruses, worms, ransomware, malicious macros or any other harmful code, and you may not upload content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, obscene, or that infringes anyone's rights. Uploaded files are checked and processed in isolation, but you remain responsible for what you upload.
9. No sharing logins
Each person must use their own login. You may not share usernames, passwords or two-step sign-in devices, create accounts for people outside your company except authorized contractors working on your bids, or let others use your account to get around plan limits.
10. Responsible use of AI features
You may not:
- use AI features to create false, misleading or fabricated content for a bid, proposal or agency message;
- submit AI output to an agency without a person at your company reviewing it;
- try to get around the human approval required for prices, signatures and submissions;
- try to make the AI reveal other customers' data, system instructions or secrets, or try to manipulate it with hidden instructions;
- use AI features to produce content that is unlawful, discriminatory, harassing or infringing;
- upload personal information about people beyond what is reasonably needed for your bids.
11. No spam to buyers
Emails sent through the Service must be relevant, truthful and lawful. You may not use the Service to:
- send bulk or unsolicited commercial email to agency staff or anyone else;
- send messages that hide or fake the sender, or use misleading subject lines;
- contact buyers in a way the solicitation forbids;
- send to purchased or harvested lists;
- keep emailing people who have asked you to stop.
12. Signatures and approvals
Signature and approval features exist so that the right person at your company stays in control. You may not:
- set up digital signing rules for a signer without that signer's knowledge and consent;
- use a signature on a document that must be signed in person, notarized or sworn, unless the signer does so personally as the law requires;
- change roles or approval settings to let a person approve prices, signatures or submissions they are not authorized to approve inside your company;
- upload a signature image for anyone who has not authorized it.
13. Protecting other people's information
Your workspace may contain information about your staff, references, subcontractors, suppliers and agency contacts. You must have a lawful basis to upload and use that information, use it only for your bids and related business, and keep it accurate.
You may not upload sensitive personal information that is not needed for a bid, such as health information, Social Security numbers of people other than as required by a solicitation, or information about children. You may not use contact details found through the Service to build marketing lists or to contact people for purposes unrelated to a specific bid.
14. Public bid information
The Service shows public bid notices, documents and award records gathered from public sources. This information is provided to help you bid. You may use it for your own bidding, but you may not copy it out of the Service in bulk, rebuild it into a list or database for others, or present it as your own product.
Public information can change or be withdrawn by the agency at any time. You are responsible for checking the official source before you rely on it.
15. Account and plan integrity
You may not create multiple accounts or workspaces to get around plan limits, trial terms or a suspension. You may not provide false information at checkout or sign-up, use another person's payment method without permission, or resell access to the Service to other companies unless we have agreed to that in writing. Bid consultants who manage bids for several client companies must use the arrangement we offer for that purpose.
16. Your responsibility for your team
You are responsible for making sure everyone you invite to your workspace knows and follows this Policy. Assign roles carefully, remove access promptly when people leave or change roles, and review your activity log from time to time. If you learn that someone in your workspace has broken this Policy, tell us and take reasonable steps to stop it.
You must also keep your own systems reasonably secure, including the devices and email accounts your team uses to sign in, so that the Service is not misused through them.
17. Demo and early-access features
The private demo and any preview or pilot features are shared so that you can evaluate BotBid. When you use them, you must also follow the Demo Confidentiality Agreement or any pilot terms you accepted. You may not record, copy or share them, use them to study BotBid for a competing product, or let anyone else use your access.
Feedback about preview features is welcome. Please report problems through the in-app suggestion and bug report button rather than working around them in ways that could affect other users.
18. How we apply this Policy
We apply this Policy fairly and in proportion to the issue. Where a problem looks accidental, such as a team member sharing a login or an automated email setting that sends more than intended, we will usually contact you first and give you a chance to fix it. Where a problem looks deliberate or puts agencies, other customers or the Service at risk, we may act at once.
When we limit or suspend access, we will tell you why, unless the law or an investigation prevents it, and we will tell you what you need to do to restore access. Bids already in progress will be handled as described in the Terms of Service, and you may still export your data unless the law or a serious security risk prevents it.
If you believe we made a mistake in applying this Policy, contact us at hello@botbid.ai and a person will review the decision.
19. Enforcement
We may investigate suspected violations of this Policy. Depending on the seriousness, we may warn you, remove content, pause automatic sending, limit features, suspend accounts or users, or terminate your subscription under the Terms. Where we suspect fraud, bid rigging or other serious misconduct, we may act without advance notice and may report the matter to the appropriate authorities.
We may cooperate with law enforcement, agencies and other authorities in investigating suspected unlawful activity, and may share information as allowed by law.
Our failure to enforce this Policy in one case does not waive our right to enforce it in another.
20. Reporting
If you believe someone is misusing BotBid, or you find a security issue, please tell us at hello@botbid.ai. Reports made in good faith are welcome, and we will not take action against people who report security issues responsibly.
21. Changes
We may update this Policy from time to time. Each version has a version number and an effective date. Material changes will be announced as described in the Terms of Service.