Five questions to ask any AI vendor before you sign
Where does our data go? What happens when we leave? Five simple questions that save small businesses from expensive AI contracts.
Daine MawerFounder, Plaincraft
2 min read
The short answer
Before you sign with any AI vendor, ask five questions: where does our data go, is it used for training, what happens when we leave, what does it really cost at our size, and who do we call when it breaks. Clear answers are a good sign. Vague ones are your answer.
Why these five
AI products are easy to demo and hard to compare. The demo shows the best case. The contract decides what happens in every other case. These questions move the conversation from features to the things that cost money later.
The questions
Where does our data go?
Which country it's stored and processed in, and which other companies (sub-processors) touch it. This matters under POPIA.Is our data used to train your models?
Get the answer in writing, for the plan you're actually buying.What happens when we leave?
Can you export your data and configuration in a usable format? How quickly is it deleted?What will it cost at our size?
Per-user, per-use and add-on pricing can add up. Ask for a quote based on your real numbers, including year two.Who do we call when it breaks?
Support hours, response times and whether there's anyone in a South African time zone.
Before you sign
Check whether a tool you already pay for, such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, does most of the job. It often does. If you'd like an independent second opinion, vendor and tool selection is a short, fixed-fee engagement, and I take no referral fees from anyone.
Written by Daine Mawer
Founder of Plaincraft, an independent AI consultancy for South African SMEs, with 17 years of building websites and digital products behind it. AI is part of how I work every day, so I know where it earns its keep and where it doesn't.
More about me
