The AI market is overflowing with promises. For a firm that handles confidential documents, the choice rests less on the demo than on a few precise questions. Here are seven.
The 7 questions
- Where do the model and the data run: on your premises, or in the cloud?
- Do documents leave your network, even temporarily?
- Does the tool cite its source for every answer?
- Does the vendor store or reuse your queries?
- Is there a data processing agreement (DPA) and the option to audit?
- What is the total cost: installation, support, updates?
- Can you test on your own data before committing?
The question that matters most
If only one mattered, it would be the first: where does your data go? The right answer is not the same for every firm. Installed on your premises, the AI makes most of the other questions moot. Hosted, it remains defensible, provided the other six answers are written and contractual.
A good vendor answers these seven questions head-on, and lets you judge on your own files, through a pilot, before any commitment.