How to evaluate a business AI solution before you pay for one
Most AI vendors sell a platform and then look for problems it fits. Turn that around.
Start with the recurring work your team does by hand, put a rough number on the hours
and the revenue it leaks, and only then ask what the cheapest reliable fix is. For a
phone-heavy business the answer is usually the front door: the calls that ring out, the
leads nobody chased, the appointments nobody confirmed. Our
missed-call statistics page has the
sourced numbers behind that claim and a calculator you can run on your own call volume.
Ask who builds it. If the person scoping your project is not the person
writing the code, you are paying for a relay. Ask what happens when your CRM changes its
API, what the system does when the model is wrong, and who you call at 9pm on a Saturday
when the receptionist stops answering. Ask for a fixed first deliverable with a date.
Insist on your own tools. The most expensive mistake in business AI is
ripping out software that already works so a vendor can sell you their platform. We
integrate with the CRM, phone system, calendar and accounting tool you already run and
put the automation in the gaps between them, which is where the manual copying lives.
You keep your number, your data, and your logins.
Keep the data where it belongs. Law firms, medical offices and anyone
handling client-confidential records should ask where the model runs and what it
retains. For regulated work we deploy onsite and hybrid AI
so the sensitive data never leaves the building.