The One Page in Your Next Pitch Deck That None of Your Competitors Have
By Gabriel Tan | May 2026
A listed company puts out a request for proposals for investor relations advisory. The RFP has a section that has not appeared in previous rounds. It asks shortlisted firms to describe their AI use policy, including how they protect confidential client information when using AI tools.
Two of the three shortlisted firms leave that section blank. The third includes a one-page summary: approved tools, data classification, review process, incident protocol. Four sections. One page.
That firm wins the mandate. The other two are told their proposals were "incomplete on governance."
The above is a hypothetical situation now, but it is going to become very real in the near future. Companies already ask vendors about data protection policies, business continuity plans, and information security standards. It is a matter of time before AI governance joins that list. Listed company boards are asking their own management teams about AI risk, and those management teams will pass the question downstream to every vendor and advisor they engage.
If your firm cannot answer that question in 60 seconds, you are going to lose a pitch you should have won.
Why clients are starting to ask
Listed companies operate under disclosure obligations and governance codes. In Singapore, the Code of Corporate Governance expects boards to oversee risk management, including technology risk. In Hong Kong, the Corporate Governance Code requires boards to ensure adequate systems of risk management and internal control. In the UK, the Corporate Governance Code and the FCA's expectations require firms to consider operational resilience, which now includes AI.
When a board's audit committee asks "how are we governing AI use across the organisation," the answer has to include external advisors. Your firm handles material non-public information. You draft documents that move share prices. If the client's board is being asked how AI is governed across their operations, your firm is part of that answer.
The question is no longer "do you use AI?" Most firms do. The question is "how do you govern AI use on our work?" The firm that answers credibly wins the trust conversation.
What to put on the page
One page. Four sections. No filler.
Our policy. State that your firm has a documented AI use policy. State when it was last reviewed. You do not need to attach the full policy to the proposal. You need to show it exists, it is current, and it is maintained.
Our approved tools. Name the tools your firm uses on client work. Name the account tier (enterprise, team). State that all approved tools operate under signed data processing agreements that bind the vendor to specific data handling, security, and breach notification standards. The client's procurement team will read this and know your firm has done the vendor diligence.
Our oversight process. State that all AI-assisted deliverables are reviewed by a named person who knows AI was used and checks the output for accuracy. State that your firm logs which tools were used and what data was entered for each client engagement. Two sentences. This tells the client their work goes through a controlled process, not an unmonitored one.
Our incident protocol. State that your firm has a documented procedure for AI-related data incidents, including escalation contacts, client notification triggers, and remediation steps. You do not need to describe the full procedure. You need to show you have one.
That is the page. Four sections, each two to three sentences. It fits in any proposal format, any pitch deck, any credentials document.
How to talk about it in the room
The page goes in the proposal. But the conversation happens in the pitch meeting. When the client asks about AI, your answer should take 60 seconds.
"We use AI to improve the speed and quality of our work. We have a documented AI use policy that governs which tools we use, what data can go into them, and how we review every output. All our AI tools run on enterprise accounts with signed data processing agreements. We log AI use by client engagement. And we have an incident protocol if anything goes wrong. Happy to walk you through any of it."
That is the answer. Factual, specific, and finished in under a minute. No jargon about frameworks or international standards. Just what you do, how you control it, and what happens if something breaks.
The client does not need to hear about your governance philosophy. They need to hear that their data is protected and that you have a system for it.
What your competitors are probably saying
Most firms, when asked about AI governance, say one of three things: "We're working on a policy," "We take data protection very seriously," or "Our team uses AI responsibly."
None of these answer the question. All of them sound like the firm has not done the work.
The bar is not high. A one-page summary in the proposal and a 60-second answer in the room puts you ahead of firms that are still figuring out what to say. The first mover advantage here is real because most firms in the PR, IR, and financial communications space have not formalised their AI governance yet.
The cost of building this is low. If you have already written your two-page AI use policy, your approved tools list, and your incident protocol, the pitch page is a summary of work you have already done. Two hours to draft. One round of review. Then it goes into every proposal from that point forward.
The question to ask before your next pitch
Pull up the last three proposals your firm submitted. Search for any mention of AI governance, data protection for AI tools, or oversight processes for AI-assisted work.
If none of them mention it, your next proposal should. The client may not ask. But the client who does ask will remember which firm had the answer ready.
If you have the policy but have not yet turned it into a pitch-ready summary, that is a short piece of work with a direct return. The governance work protects your firm. The pitch page wins you business from it.
Gabriel Tan is the founder of Mekong Bridge Advisory. He builds structured execution systems for PR and communications firms.
