Project Information

Bid Title

Business Gateway AI Agent - UPDATED

Issuing Agency

State Government of Tennessee

Location

Tennessee

Published Date

Dec 3, 2025

Closing Date

Dec 10, 2025

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

RFI 31701-03814

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Document ID & Hyperlink:	RFI 31701-03814 Amendment 1
Event Start - Response Due:	11/13/2025 12/10/2025
Event Name:	Business Gateway AI Agent - UPDATED
Last Updated:	12/03/2025

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STATE OF TENNESSEE

FINANACE & ADMINISTRATION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

FOR

BUSINESS GATEWAY AI AGENT

RFI # 31701-03814

November 13, 2025

1. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:

The State of Tennessee, Department of Finance & Administration – Strategic Technology

Solutions (STS) issues this Request for Information (“RFI”) for the purpose of seeking information

from qualified vendors regarding an AI-powered virtual avatar assistant to enhance user

navigation and interaction within the Digital Business Gateway Portal. This initiative aims to

create a citizen-centric, multilingual platform that serves as a single-entry point for individuals and

entrepreneurs registering a new business in Tennessee.

The platform leverages advanced conversational AI, presented as a multilingual, avatar-based

assistant, to guide users through every required step of state and federal registration processes.

It integrates across all relevant Tennessee state agency systems to automate, simplify, and

personalize the business registration journey.

This RFI is not a solicitation for bids or proposals but a market research effort to gather

information on capabilities, implementation approaches, and estimated costs to inform a potential

future procurement. We appreciate your input and participation in this process.

2. BACKGROUND:

The Business Gateway Portal is an initiative under the Governor’s Economic Development and

Government Efficiency priorities, designed to:

• Provide a central digital front-door for all new business registrations.

• Simplify the business startup process by providing real-time, personalized guidance through

an interactive avatar interface responsive for mobile, desktop, and web.

• Embody a consistent, friendly, and professional digital persona representative of the State of

Tennessee.

• Enable a paperless, unified registration process across all agencies via a connected platform.

1

• Reduce redundant data entry across agencies.

• Improve accessibility through multilingual support (Voice and text).

• Enhance compliance and transparency in registration by tracking registration progress and

compliance milestones that are viewable to applicants.

o User Dashboard

 Timeline Tracker of completed and pending tasks.

 Document vault for downloaded certificates, tax forms, etc.

 Reminders and follow-up task alerts.

• Increase interagency efficiency through automation and system integration.

• Reduce errors and redundancy through smart data propagation and form pre-population.

• Integrate seamlessly with state systems to support the integrated registration, across

numerous agencies that include Revenue, Labor, Secretary of State, and Commerce.

o Integrated Registration Flow

Automatically handles:

 Step 1: Name search and reservation (TN Secretary of State).

 Step 2: Business structure registration (LLC, corporation, etc.).

 Step 3: Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) redirection or API call.

 Step 4: Tax registration with Department of Revenue.

 Step 5: Unemployment insurance and workers’ comp (Department of Labor

& Workforce Development).

 Step 6: Professional licenses or permits via Department of Commerce &

Insurance.

• Provide newly registered business owners with logins and guidance for future interactions,

including frequency, with relevant state agency portals.

3. PROJECT REQUIREMENTS: DEFINING SUCCESS CRITERIA WITH CURRENT

CHALLENGES

Clearly defining success is essential to evaluating the responses associated with this RFI. The

State is looking to understand the vendor’s framework and strategic approach to address current

challenges, as defined in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Business Gateway Desired Features and Functionality

Current challenge

Desired features

Success criteria

Anticipated Outcome

Multiple agency

websites and forms

AI agent registers

applicant and auto-

creates agency user

accounts with guided

support

Reduced user

confusion and fewer

failed registrations

Higher rate of

successful business

launches

Language barriers

Repetitive data

entry

Missed regulatory

steps

Accessibility and

Inclusion

Multilingual voice/text

assistant

Inclusivity and better

reach to diverse

communities

Reduce third-party

dependency due to

language

Smart intake process

guided by AI agent via

voice or text form with

data propagation

Integrated registration

flow with timeline

tracker

One-time data entry

across systems

Enhanced

transparency and

compliance

Improved accuracy

and reduced

registration time

Fewer incomplete

submissions and legal

oversights

Avatar supports ADA-

compliant interaction,

including voice

commands, captions,

and text contrast

options

Improved accessibility

and equitable

participation

Higher satisfaction

and adoption rates

4. COMMUNICATIONS:

4.1. Please submit your questions and response to this RFI to:

Shannon Keefe, Contract Specialist

Finance and Administration, Strategic Technology Solutions

901 Rep. John Lewis Way North, Nashville, TN 37243

(615) 350-4244

Shannon.Keefe@tn.gov

4.2. Please reference RFI # 31701-03814 with all communications to this RFI.

4.3. Please limit all questions to one submission per vendor.

5. RFI SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

EVENT

1. RFI Issued

2. Written Questions & Comments Deadline

TIME

(Central

Time

Zone)

DATE

(all dates are State business

days)

Thursday, November 13, 2025

2:00 PM Thursday, November 20, 2025

3.

State Response to Written Questions &

Comments

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

4. RFI Response Deadline

2:00 PM Wednesday, December 10, 2025

6. GENERAL INFORMATION:

6.1. Please note that responding to this RFI is not a prerequisite for responding to any future

solicitations related to this project and a response to this RFI will not create any contract

rights. Responses to this RFI will become property of the State.

6.2. The information gathered during this RFI is part of an ongoing procurement. In order to

prevent an unfair advantage among potential respondents, the RFI responses will not be

available until after the completion of evaluation of any responses, proposals, or bids

resulting from a Request for Qualifications, Request for Proposals, Invitation to Bid or other

procurement method. In the event that the state chooses not to go further in the

procurement process and responses are never evaluated, the responses to the

procurement including the responses to the RFI, will be considered confidential by the

State.

6.3. The State will not pay for any costs associated with responding to this RFI.

6.4. Any services or products proposed in this RFI, must be in compliance with the following

security policy: all State data must remain in the United States, regardless of whether the

data is processed, stored, in-transit, or at rest. Access to State data shall be limited to US-

based (onshore) resources only. Configuration or development of software and code is

permitted outside of the United States, however, software applications designed,

developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned or controlled by, or subject to the

jurisdiction or direction of, a foreign adversary, which the U.S. Secretary of Commerce

acting pursuant to 15 C.F.R. 7 has defined to include the People's Republic of China,

among others are prohibited. Any testing of code outside of the United States must use fake

data. A copy of production data may not be transmitted or used outside the United States.

6.5. The State may request demo presentations from selected RFI respondents.

6.6. Responses should be prepared, with emphasis on completeness and clarity, and should

NOT exceed fifteen (15) pages total in length. Responses, as well as any reference material

presented, must be written in English, and must be written on standard 8 ½” x 11” pages

and all text must be at least a 12-point font. All pages must be numbered.

7. INFORMATIONAL FORMS:

The State is requesting the following information from all interested parties. Please fill out the

following forms:

RFI #31701-03814

TECHNICAL INFORMATIONAL FORM

1. RESPONDENT LEGAL ENTITY NAME:

2. RESPONDENT CONTACT PERSON:

Name, Title:

Address:

Phone Number:

Email:

3. Provide a brief company background, including years in business and relevant experience with

digital assistants, chatbots, or avatar-based systems.

4. Provide examples of similar deployments, especially in government or regulated sectors.

5. Describe your avatar technology, AI/NLP capabilities, and multilingual support.

6. Outline your recommended deployment strategy, integration process, and timeline, including

any phased approach.

7. Explain how your solution can be extended to other use cases.

8. Please provide details on how your solution will address the State’s current challenges and

desired outcomes as outlined in Table 1 of this RFI.

9. Describe how your solution utilizes the following:

• Multilingual voice and text-based avatar accessible via desktop and mobile

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) for conversational interactions

• Levels of customization available for the Avatar’s appearance, voice and personality

• Dynamic interface personalization based on user profile (e.g., type of business, location,

experience level)

• Accessibility compliance (ADA, WCAG 2.1 AA)

• Dynamically adjust communication tone and style-based on user persona, context, or

regional preferences

10. Describe your solution’s security and privacy controls:

• Role-based access control (RBAC)

• Multi-factor authentication (MFA)

• Data encryption in transit and at rest

• Data storage and retention policies

• Compliance with State privacy and cybersecurity frameworks

• Supported industry-standard authentication and authorization protocols (e.g., SAML 2.0,

OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect)

• Examples of successful integrations with major CIAM platforms (e.g., Okta, Azure AD B2C,

Ping Identity, ForgeRock)

• Summarize any other adherence to privacy, security, and data governance standards

11. Describe your solution’s analytics and reporting capabilities:

• Interaction logging and analytics dashboard

• Metrics on user engagement, completion rates, and error reduction

• Compatibility with third-party analytic tools

• Support for AI performance monitoring and bias detection

12. Describe your solution’s scalability, integration and compatibility:

• Modular architecture supporting future expansion to other state services

• System integration layers and services including API gateway integration with secure, real-

time data sharing across agency databases and/or integration with existing web portals or

platforms

• Cloud or hybrid hosting options and deployment models compliant with state IT standards

• Management of System maintenance, updates and improvement, including SLAs and

introduction of emerging technologies

13. Describe your solution’s training and knowledge transfer process to administrators and content

managers.

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