Choosing an AI tool usually starts with a demo and a pricing page. Both are built to sell. The questions that decide whether the tool works for your business, at a price you can live with, are usually answered somewhere else, in the contract, the help docs, and the fine print on the security page.
This checklist covers what to confirm before you sign, and how to read what vendors tell you.
1. Get the price at your volume, in writing
The price on a vendor's website is a starting point. What you actually pay depends on seats, usage, add-ons, and onboarding fees. A tool that looks affordable at the starter tier can cost several times more once you add the users and features you need.
Ask for a written quote based on your real numbers, including headcount, monthly volume, and the features you plan to use. Ask what happens to the price at renewal and whether there is a minimum term. If a vendor will not put the number in writing, assume it will change.
2. Confirm it connects to what you already use
A tool that does not talk to your existing systems creates double entry, and double entry is how pilots die. If you run your scheduling, billing, or customer records in a specific system, confirm the integration directly.
Look for the integration in the vendor's own documentation, not just a logo on the homepage. Ask whether it is a native connection or a workaround through a third-party service, and whether it syncs in both directions. One missing connection can make an otherwise strong tool the wrong choice.
3. Read the security claims closely
Security pages are full of badges and phrases that sound reassuring. Some mean a lot and some mean very little.
A claim that a vendor "uses bank-level encryption" says almost nothing on its own. An independent audit report, such as a SOC 2 Type II report, is stronger, and a vendor that has one will usually share it under a nondisclosure agreement. Ask for it.
If you handle health information, ask whether the vendor will sign a business associate agreement before any patient data enters the tool. If the answer is no, or "only on the enterprise plan," that settles the question for most practices.
4. Know who owns your data and how you get it back
Before you put customer records into any tool, find out three things. Who owns the data you put in? Is it used to train the vendor's models, and can you opt out? And if you cancel, how do you export everything, in what format, and how long do you have?
Getting out of a tool should be as clear as getting in.
5. Check the contract terms that bite later
Auto-renewal clauses, price increase caps, cancellation notice periods, and liability limits are easy to skip and expensive to discover. Read the renewal and cancellation sections before you sign, and put the renewal date on your calendar the day you do.
6. Compare finalists side by side
If you are choosing between two or three tools, put them in one table with the same rows. Price at your volume, integrations confirmed, security documentation provided, data terms, contract terms. Differences that were invisible in three separate demos become obvious in one table.
Turn the findings into conditions
The output of vetting should not just be a pick. It should be a short list of conditions to meet before signing. For example, a written quote at your volume, a signed business associate agreement, and an export clause you have read. A vendor that will not meet reasonable conditions has told you something useful.
Where Rémis fits
Rémis Vendor Match prices tools at your business's actual volume and checks them against your existing systems, and the Compliance Check lists the rules that apply to each tool for your state and industry. Together they cover much of this checklist before you ever book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask an AI vendor before signing? Ask for a written quote at your volume, confirmation of the integrations you need, its security documentation, its data ownership and export terms, and its renewal and cancellation terms.
Is a security badge enough to trust an AI tool? No. Ask for the underlying documentation, such as a SOC 2 Type II report, and for regulated data, a signed agreement such as a HIPAA business associate agreement.
How many AI vendors should a small business compare? Two or three finalists is usually enough. Compare them side by side on the same criteria rather than deciding demo by demo.
Written by Alex Carlson, founder of Rémis (University of Miami, BBA Finance and BBA Business Technology).