Checklists / Ten questions for any AI agency
Ten questions for any AI agency
Take this list to every conversation, including the one with us. The answers say more than a presentation. Our own answers are on our About us page and in our terms and conditions.
15 points · fits on one page · print with Ctrl+P or Cmd+P
Who does the work
- Will I be talking to the same people who build it, or to an account manager?
- Who will actually work on my project, and is that written into the proposal?
- What happens if that person drops out or leaves?
What it costs
- Do I get a fixed price or a range with a ceiling, or is it open-ended?
- How is additional work handled: only after my written approval, or does it show up on the invoice afterwards?
- Do I get a breakdown per day: who, how many hours, on what?
Who owns it
- Who owns the code and the documentation once it is finished, and is that on paper?
- Can I export my data at any time, in a usable format?
- Does it run on standard technology that another party could also maintain?
What if it goes wrong
- What happens if it does not work? Ask what is agreed, not what is promised.
- Name a project that went wrong and what you changed afterwards.
- Who is responsible if the system makes a mistake, and how is that insured?
Rules and data
- Which risk class of the EU AI Act does this fall under, and who decides that?
- Where is my data stored, and who can access it?
- Is there a data processing agreement, and can I see it in advance?
If you get no concrete answer to more than two questions, keep asking or look elsewhere. An agency that has built a lot can answer these questions without hesitation — including the one about what went wrong.