I am a non-technical business owner, and I am constantly bombarded by software vendors pitching expensive AI integrations. What specific questions should I ask these vendors to cut through the hype and determine if their tool will actually improve our bottom-line operations?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

As an owner, you do not need to understand how machine learning algorithms work under the hood. You only need to understand the relationship between input, process, and output.

When a vendor pitches you an AI solution, cut through the jargon by asking three direct questions.

First, ask them to show you the exact inputs required. Do we need to clean our data, write custom integrations, or manually upload files every day? If the tool requires a massive manual data cleanup before it can function, you are looking at an expensive IT project, not an out of the box solution.

Second, ask them to demonstrate the output. Will this tool produce a finished deliverable that our team can immediately use, or will it just generate more data that we have to spend hours analyzing? You want tools that deliver finished work, like a drafted invoice or a completed schedule, rather than another dashboard that requires human interpretation.

Third, ask for the total cost of ownership, including implementation and training. Many platforms charge a low monthly subscription fee but hide thousands of dollars in onboarding and consulting fees.

Always remember our core rule: never buy AI for the sake of technology. Only invest in software that solves a specific operational bottleneck identified in your Business Insights Report or simplifies a core process in your V/TO®.