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GOV Voice

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

07 Sep 2026 at 14:20

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Tender

29 May 2026 at 16:34

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

16 Feb 2026 at 15:09

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology is delivering Gov Voice, an AI-enabled voice capability for public-sector contact services. The requirement covers interactive voice response and associated IT software, using generative AI to automate routine enquiries, improve accessibility, reduce waiting times and provide quicker resolutions. It is intended to provide a centrally assured, reusable and scalable platform that can be adopted by central government departments, local authorities and arm’s-length bodies. Delivery is across the United Kingdom, with the capability operating securely within government environments and supporting consistent, interoperable voice services across organisations. The procurement is classified as goods, but businesses with expertise in voice AI software, contact-centre automation, platform integration and public-sector service delivery are the relevant market.

The procurement is complete and was awarded to Eleven Labs on 7 September 2026 following a selective competitive flexible procedure. One valid final bid was recorded. The award is £9,000,000 excluding VAT (£10,800,000 including VAT), for an initial contract period from 18 September 2026 to 17 September 2027, with two optional one-year extensions and a maximum end date of 17 September 2029. The two-stage process shortlisted up to three suppliers for the tender stage, which included hands-on product testing in a sandbox, written technical responses and commercial submissions. Evaluation weighted quality at 70%—product evaluation 60%, written technical response 30% and social value 10%—and price at 30%, based on scenario pricing and a commercial breakdown. The single lot was suitable for SMEs and VCSEs.

This award demonstrates substantial public-sector demand for a deployable, scalable voice-AI platform rather than a standalone conversational tool. A credible competitor for a future requirement would need proven voice AI capability, interactive voice response or contact-centre automation expertise, and the ability to integrate securely with government systems and operate across multiple organisations. Evidence should include relevant case studies and experience, a clear platform deployment and integration approach, and a service model capable of supporting adoption at scale. Suppliers would also need demonstrable financial and legal capacity, secure supply-chain arrangements, and compliance with security and data-protection requirements. The evaluation shows that strong product performance in realistic testing, a detailed technical response, social value and transparent scenario-based pricing all matter, with quality carrying greater weight than commercial price.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

GOV Voice

Notice Description

The Gov Voice programme, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, is focused on establishing a cross-government, AI-enabled voice capability to modernise how citizens interact with public sector contact services. It centres on deploying generative AI voice technology as a core component of a more integrated and consistent approach to service delivery across organisations. A key aim of the programme is to enhance the overall citizen experience by enabling automated handling of routine enquiries. This approach is designed to reduce wait times, improve accessibility, and provide quicker resolutions for common queries, supporting a more responsive interface with government services. Alongside these user benefits, the programme introduces a reusable and scalable platform that can be adopted across multiple organisations. By providing a centrally assured solution, it reduces duplication of effort and enables a more efficient, coordinated model for delivering voice-based services at scale. Crucially, while led centrally, Gov Voice is intended to be applicable across the whole public sector landscape, enabling adoption by central government departments, local government organisations, and Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs) to provide a consistent, interoperable voice capability that can operate securely within government environments and scale across multiple services.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: This contract will be for an inital period of 12 months with extension options of 2 x1 years (24 months); bringing hte maximum duration of this agreement to 3 years (36 months)

Planning Information

Organisations interest in participating in this pre-market engagement must contact commissioning-digital@dsit.gov.uk to access the pre-market engagement document. Organisation participating will be required to submit a response to the Departments Questionnaire by 12:00 Noon Monday 2nd March 2026.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06551d
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084461-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

CPV Codes

48512000 - Interactive voice response software package

48517000 - IT software package

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£9,000,000 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£9,000,000 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
£9,000,000 £1M-£10M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Sep 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
7 Sep 20261 months ago
Contract Period
18 Sep 2026 - 17 Sep 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1A 2EG
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Eleven Labs Inc.

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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