# Too many irrelevant tenders

Source: Tender Navigator Knowledge Base, https://tendernavigator.com/knowledge-base/too-many-irrelevant-tenders (canonical HTML). Category: Troubleshooting. Published 2026-09-08, last updated 2026-09-08.

> Irrelevant tenders in Tender Navigator come from two places: a filter whose keywords and codes pick up notices that are not about your work, and a prompt that is too vague for the AI to mark them Unmatched. Tighten the criteria first, then sharpen the prompt using the reasoning on the results.

## Decide which problem you have

- **The filter reads too much.** Open the filter: a high **Evaluations performed** count with mostly Unmatched results means the keywords and codes pick up notices that are not about your work. Every tender read costs an evaluation, so fix this first.
- **The verdicts are too generous.** Many Matched results that you would never bid on means the AI prompt does not state your criteria and exclusions clearly enough.

## Make the filter read less

1. **Replace broad keywords with specific ones.** "cloud" matches weather and printing notices; "cloud migration" and "Azure" do not. Remember that keywords are ORed, so removing a broad one narrows the filter more than adding a narrow one.
2. **Use precise classification codes.** A CPV family such as 72000000 (IT services) reads far more than 72212000 (programming services). Pick the codes buyers actually attach to the work you do.
3. **Limit the countries** to markets you can deliver in.
4. **Add a budget range** where you know your typical contract size, keeping tenders without a published budget included unless you are sure.
5. **Set a deadline offset** so that tenders closing in a few days, which you could not bid on anyway, are skipped.
6. **Split one broad filter into two narrow ones** with different prompts, within your plan's active-filter allowance.

See [Keywords, countries and codes](/knowledge-base/search-criteria) and [Creating and editing a filter](/knowledge-base/creating-a-filter).

## Make the verdicts stricter

1. Open a few wrongly Matched results and read the **reasoning** in the Tender Info panel. It shows which of your criteria the model relied on.
2. Add the missing **exclusions** to the prompt: sectors you do not serve, certifications you lack, minimum contract sizes, on-site or language requirements you cannot meet.
3. Say how to treat uncertainty ("if the notice does not clearly ask for X, mark it Unmatched").
4. Save the prompt. The change applies from the next daily run; existing results keep their verdicts.

See [Writing the AI prompt](/knowledge-base/writing-the-ai-prompt) and [Why a tender was matched or unmatched](/knowledge-base/why-a-tender-was-matched).

## Make the noise easier to handle

- On the Results page, set **Match** to Matched to hide Unmatched results, and use the Favorites heart to keep the ones worth a look.
- Set the filter's digest to **Weekly** if daily emails are too many; evaluation still runs daily.