As a non-technical founder, I am overwhelmed by the constant stream of new software tools claiming to be powered by AI. How do I personally evaluate these platforms during a demo to ensure they build system-dependent operations rather than just being expensive tech theater?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To cut through the software vendor hype, you must change how you evaluate demonstrations. Never buy software because of a flashy slide deck or promises of revolutionary intelligence. Instead, force the vendor to prove that their machine learning tool actually solves a specific operational bottleneck in your business.

During the demo, do not let them show you a pre-packaged, perfect scenario. Hand them a piece of your own messy, unstructured data, such as an actual client email or a complicated vendor invoice, and ask them to process it live. A real expert system will handle your real-world mess and output clean, structured results that align with your documented standard operating procedures. If the vendor hesitates or says they need weeks of custom engineering to handle your data, you are looking at tech theater.

Your goal is to build system-dependent operations rather than expert-dependent ones. Ask the vendor how their tool integrates with your existing workflows and whether a junior team member can run it without technical supervision. If the tool requires a highly technical person to manage it constantly, you are just swapping one dependency for another. The right tool should easily run your documented SOPs around the clock, allowing any employee who GWC details to oversee the process.