An AI procurement assistant that chases suppliers for you.
It asks your suppliers for quotes, lines them up in one sheet and drafts the purchase order for your approval. Then it chases the delivery, and tells you the moment a price changes.
300 free credits to start. Live in two minutes.
What is an AI procurement assistant?
An AI procurement assistant is an agent that handles the paperwork and follow-up of buying: requesting quotes, comparing them, drafting purchase orders and chasing deliveries. Cicada's emails suppliers from your connected inbox, reads the quotes that come back as PDFs or spreadsheets, and puts them side by side in a sheet. It drafts the PO in MRPeasy, QuickBooks, Xero or a document for you to approve, never places or pays for an order on its own, and watches supplier emails and price lists so a price change reaches you before the invoice does.
What your AI procurement assistant does.
Requests quotes
Emails the suppliers you name from your Gmail or Outlook with the spec, quantity and date, after your yes, and keeps track of who has answered.
Compares them in a sheet
Reads the quotes that come back as emails, PDFs or spreadsheets and lines them up side by side: unit price, freight, minimums, lead time and payment terms.
Drafts the PO
Writes the purchase order in MRPeasy, QuickBooks or Xero, or as a branded PDF, from the quote you picked. It waits for your approval and never places or pays for an order itself.
Chases deliveries
Checks confirmed dates against what has arrived and follows up with the supplier when a delivery is late, with the PO number in the message.
Watches prices
Reads new quotes, price lists and invoices as they arrive and tells you when a supplier's price has moved against the last order.
Keeps the supplier list current
Contacts, terms, lead times and the last price paid, kept in a shared sheet or Airtable base the whole team can read.
Who hires an AI procurement assistant.
Raw materials on time
Quotes for every component, POs drafted in MRPeasy, and late deliveries chased before they stop the line.
Packaging and stock reorders
Quotes from three suppliers in one sheet, and the PO drafted the day you decide.
Suppliers who answer
Price changes on produce and dry goods flagged, and short deliveries followed up.
The office order handled
Quotes for furniture, equipment and supplies compared, and the order drafted for sign-off.
One place for every open PO
What's ordered, what's confirmed and what's late, in one sheet that is updated after every run.
Buying without a buyer
The quotes, the comparison and the chasing done, so all that's left for you is the decision.
Set up in three steps.
Say what the job is
Describe the role in a sentence when you sign up, or tell the agent in the chat. It writes its own brief, which you can read and change any time.
Connect the apps it needs
One click for most apps. Each one can be Full, Ask first or Read-only, for every agent in the workspace.
Link your phone, or don't
Scan a code and it's in your iMessage or WhatsApp. Or keep it in the app, Slack and email. Hand it the first job in the same message.
Nothing goes out without your yes.
Nothing goes out without your yes
Anything that can't be undone, and any message to another person, waits for your OK. Approve with a 👍 in the chat, or set a role to full autonomy once you trust it.
Read-only is a real lock
Make any app read-only and the agent can look but never change a thing. It applies to every agent in the workspace, from their next run.
Every step on the record
Each run shows what it read, what it did and what it sent, step by step, in the Activity tab. Corrections you make stick.
What it won't do.
Won't pretend
If it couldn't confirm something, it leaves it out and says so. A number without a source doesn't go in a message.
Won't go around you
It never messages anyone on your behalf unless you asked, never spends money, and never makes a judgement call about money on its own.
Won't read what isn't shared
Teammates' agents work only through the apps the workspace shares. Your inbox and your personal apps stay under your own login.
Three ways to buy from suppliers
| Task | By hand | A procurement platform | An AI procurement assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requesting quotes | Three emails written from scratch | Suppliers log in to a portal | Sent from your inbox after your yes, to the suppliers you already use |
| Comparing quotes | Retyping PDFs into a sheet | Only if suppliers enter them | Read from the emails and PDFs and lined up in one sheet |
| Drafting the PO | Copying numbers into a template | Inside the platform | Drafted in MRPeasy, QuickBooks or a PDF, waiting for your approval |
| Chasing a late delivery | When the stock runs out | An automatic reminder | Followed up with the PO number when the date passes |
| Price changes | Noticed on the invoice | If the catalog is kept current | Flagged when a quote or invoice moves against the last order |
| Setup | None, and no time either | Supplier onboarding and training | Connect your inbox and say who your suppliers are |
Things to ask your AI procurement assistant.
- 01
"get quotes for 2,000 kraft mailer boxes 9x6x3 from Calder and Kestrel, need them by end of month"
You get: Requests drafted to both suppliers for your yes, then a sheet comparing what comes back.
- 02
"compare the three label printer quotes in my inbox and tell me which one"
You get: Price, freight, lead time and terms side by side, and which one it would pick and why. The decision stays yours.
- 03
"draft the PO to Bellmont for the bottles at the quoted price"
You get: A purchase order drafted in MRPeasy from the quote, waiting for your approval.
- 04
"every monday tell me which POs are late or unconfirmed"
You get: A weekly message with each open PO, the promised date, and which ones it has chased.
- 05
"let me know if any supplier puts a price up"
You get: A watch on new quotes and invoices, and a message when a price moves, with the old and the new figure.
Frequently asked questions.
Where do I talk to it?
iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email or the web app. Link your phone with a code at sign-up and it answers in the same thread you text it in. In a group chat it stays quiet until someone names it.
Will it email suppliers as me?
Only when you ask, and only from your own connected inbox. Each request waits for your 👍 in the chat unless you've set the role to full autonomy.
Does it place orders or pay suppliers?
No. It drafts the purchase order and waits for your approval. It never spends money or picks a supplier on its own: it shows you the comparison and you decide.
Can it read quotes that come as PDFs?
Yes. PDFs, spreadsheets, Word documents and photos of a printed quote. It adds the figures to the comparison sheet and tells you about anything it couldn't read clearly.
Where do the POs live?
Wherever you keep them now: MRPeasy, QuickBooks, Xero, or a branded PDF on a permanent link. Any of those apps can be set to Ask first or Read-only.
How does it chase a late delivery?
By email from your inbox, with the PO number and the promised date in the message, and again if there's no answer. It can also place a call for you (paid plans, US, Canada and UK).
Can my team use it too?
Yes. Everyone in your workspace gets their own agents. The accounting app and the supplier sheet are connected once for the team; each person's inbox stays under their own login.
What does it cost?
Every workspace starts with 300 free credits. You add a card at sign-up and nothing is charged until you run low; then it's $25 for 200 credits, with no subscription. A quick reply is about 5 credits and a typical run under 20; plans start at $99 a month.
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One teammate. The output of a team.
Works nights, remembers every decision, answers in the thread. Start free with 300 credits.