RFP AI-based Interactive Voice Response Solution

The City of Fort Worth is requesting proposals for an AI-based Interactive Voice Response solution for the Information Technology Solution Department on an "as needed" basis, with bids due October 22, 2026, as extended by Addendum No. 2 (issued September 18, 2026). Questions are due October 5, 2026. A 30% Small Business participation goal applies, with certified Small Business firms required to perform at least 30% of total awarded contract value.

The scope is an enterprise-grade AI platform unifying resident-facing and staff-facing services across voice, web chat, SMS, and outbound communications across seven call centers serving more than one million residents. The solution must provide 24/7 availability with multilingual support (20+ languages for voice, 75+ for chat), integrate with existing City systems including Cisco IVR, Microsoft 365, Accela permitting, ESRI GIS, and municipal court case management, and support both deterministic and retrieval-augmented generation AI. All data processing and storage must be exclusively within U.S.-based data centers, with operations by a U.S.-based vendor team.

Proposals are evaluated using a best-value methodology totaling 100 points: Cost (15 points), Small Business Participation (20 points), Staff Workflow Integration & Implementation (25 points), AI Performance & Document Grounding (25 points), and Experience, References & Measurable Outcomes (15 points). Proposals scoring below 50% of available non-price points are ineligible. Vendors must demonstrate a minimum of three years of government-focused AI platform deployment experience, provide at least five local government references including two from cities or counties with populations exceeding 500,000, and meet SOC 2 Type II certification, AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit, 99%+ uptime SLA, and compliance with ADA Title II, WCAG 2.1 AA, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and CJIS.

The vendor must maintain Commercial General Liability of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, Automobile Liability of $1 million, and Professional Liability of $1 million per claim and aggregate. The agreement permits City termination with 30 days' written notice or without penalty if insufficient funds are appropriated. All work product becomes the exclusive property of the City. Proposals require completion of forms RFP-04 through RFP-09, reference sheets, bid tables, and detailed technical responses in 12-point font minimum with one-inch margins.