Starting an RFQ from Chat

What This Is

The chat at buyer24.ai/start is the conversational front door to Buyer24 — no account, no form. You talk to the Start Page Assistant: you describe what you need to buy, it asks a few clarifying questions, and a complete RFQ document builds itself live on the page as you talk. When it looks right, you leave your email and claim the draft with a secure sign-in link.

It's the same funnel as starting an RFQ by email — same outcome — just interactive instead of asynchronous.

Step by Step

1. Open buyer24.ai/start and describe your need. Plain language is fine: "I need 50 docking stations and 30 monitors delivered to our Austin office by end of July."
2. Answer the assistant's questions. It asks only about genuine gaps — quantities, specs, deadline, delivery — and it can also answer questions about Buyer24 itself (pricing, how it works) along the way. If a product or brand name looks misspelled, it checks the name it thinks you mean with one short question rather than guessing.
3. Upload documents mid-chat. Attach a parts list, BOM, or spec PDF and the assistant parses it on the spot, presents the items it found, and asks about anything unclear. Up to 3 files, 10 MB each.
4. Watch the draft build. Once there's enough to work with, the RFQ appears as a live document beside the chat — subject, deadline, a real items table, and the full description. On mobile it opens as a slide-up sheet via View RFQ draft.
5. Edit by asking. "Bump the docking stations to 100," "add a note about warranty," "move the deadline to Friday" — the assistant applies just that change and you see it animate into the document. Everything else stays exactly as it was.
6. Click Save and enter your email. You can also continue directly with Google or Microsoft. A work address is best — if your company already uses Buyer24 it can place you in their workspace — but personal addresses are accepted here too.
7. Click the link in the verification email. That proves you own the address. Set a password (or finish the Google/Microsoft sign-in) and you land on your draft RFQ inside your workspace.

The Page at a Glance

Once the conversation starts, the page splits into two working areas:

• Left — the conversation. Your chat with the Start Page Assistant, plus a short progress checklist showing where you are in the funnel (understand → draft → save). The checklist ticks off as real progress happens.
• Right — the document. Your RFQ rendered as a proper document: subject heading, deadline and meta row, and the items table. It stays in view while the chat scrolls. A Save action sits in its header.

When you ask for a change, only the affected paragraph or table row updates — the rest of the document stays put, and the page scrolls the change into view so you can confirm it landed. If the draft hasn't appeared yet and you want it now, use Prepare draft to build it manually.

What to Expect

• Nothing is saved to a workspace until you verify. The email you type in the Save dialog is unverified until you click the link — only then is the draft placed into an account. This protects existing users from anyone typing their address.
• Existing users land in their own workspace. If the verified email belongs to an existing account, the draft goes straight into that organization — no new account, no duplicate workspace.
• Company already on Buyer24? A work email matching an existing organization joins you to that workspace. Unless the organization approves matching addresses automatically, its admin is asked to let you in first, and your draft is prepared once they do.
• Your conversation survives a refresh. Chats are remembered in your browser; reloading the page picks up where you left off, and the start page lists your recent requests so you can reopen one.
• Supplier matching happens after sign-up. The chat drafts the RFQ; sourcing suppliers and the rest of the workflow continue inside the app once you're in.

Tips & FAQ

Do I have to upload documents?

No — describing your need in chat is enough. But a parts list or spec sheet gives the draft a head start, and you'll see the parsed items immediately.

What file types can I upload?

Common document formats — PDFs, spreadsheets, and similar. There's a limit of 3 files per conversation, 10 MB each.

I added a file after the draft existed — what happens?

The new document's contents are merged into the existing draft. Your earlier items and edits are preserved; the file's items are added alongside them.

Can I edit the document directly?

Edits go through the chat — tell the assistant what to change and watch it apply. Once you've claimed the draft, the full in-app editor is available too.

Can I start over?

Yes — use the new-request button to start a fresh conversation. Your previous one stays in the recent list.

Can the assistant compare quotes I already have?

Yes. Tell it you have quotes to compare, then attach them — PDF, Excel or image — with the + below the message box, and the comparison is built beside the chat from the quotes you attached. If you name suppliers but don't have their quotes yet, it drafts one RFQ for your need instead, so the quotes that come back can be compared side by side.

Is the chat the same as the AI assistant in the app?

They're related but different assistants. The Start Page Assistant exists to draft your first RFQ before you have an account. Once you're signed in, Your AI Assistant handles your whole procurement workspace.

The Save button worked but I never got the email.

Check spam, and confirm you typed the address correctly. You can click Save again to retry.

Does sending my RFQ cost anything?

No. New workspaces start on the free plan, and sending RFQs to suppliers is free within a fair-use limit. Paid plans add RFQ Autopilot and credits for agent tasks — see Pricing.

Can I keep improving the RFQ after claiming it?

Yes — once it's in your workspace you have the full editor, supplier matching, and the rest of the platform. If you started by email instead, you can even update the draft by replying — see Updating a Draft by Reply.

Is the chat private?

The conversation history is stored in your own browser; the draft and any uploaded files are held server-side under the conversation until you claim them with a verified email.