AI Procurement: Contract and Data Questions
Ask AI vendors the data, security, contract and exit questions that matter before you sign
A taste of a lesson
The vendor says they never train on customer data. Is that enough?
It is a good start, but check where that statement lives and what it covers. Is it in the contract or data processing terms, or only on a web page that can change? Does it cover all tiers, or only business plans? Does it include files, logs and feedback you submit, and any model provider they use underneath? Also ask how long inputs are retained for other purposes, such as abuse monitoring. Exercise: write two follow up questions that would turn that statement into a contractual commitment.
Written by the teacher as an example. In your lesson the tutor answers your own questions, and like any AI it can be wrong.
What you will be able to do
- Build a procurement question set covering data, security, IP, change and exit
- Read vendor answers critically and spot vague or missing commitments
- Check that contract, data terms and product settings agree
- Scale scrutiny to the data and risk involved
- Prepare a clear brief for legal, privacy and security reviewers
Lesson plan
- 1 What makes AI purchases different Understand the extra questions AI products raise beyond normal software buying. Start
- 2 Data use and retention Ask precise questions about training use, retention, location and deletion. Start
- 3 Security evidence Request and assess real security evidence rather than claims. Start
- 4 Outputs, IP and model change Clarify output ownership, indemnities and how changes are managed. Start
- 5 Service, pricing and exit Secure workable service terms and a realistic way to leave. Start
- 6 Reading answers and briefing advisers Critique vendor responses and hand a clear summary to legal and security. Start
Try asking
About this tutor
For procurement staff, IT and security leads, legal operations and managers who buy AI products or model access for their organisation. Buying AI raises questions ordinary software purchases do not fully cover: whether your inputs are used to train models, how long prompts and outputs are retained, where processing happens, what subprocessors are involved, who owns outputs, how model changes are announced and what happens to your data when you leave. You will build a question set, learn to read vendor answers critically, spot vague assurances, and prepare a clear brief for your legal and security colleagues. Education only, not legal advice: contract terms and obligations must be settled with your own advisers.
Reviews
4.3
3 ratingsSample
- Olumide F.Sample
Dense but valuable. The model change questions were new to our procurement team and immediately relevant at renewal.
- Carmen D.Sample
Strong question set. It rightly kept sending me to our lawyers for specifics, which slowed me down but was correct.
- Ingrid V.Sample
The critique of sample vendor answers was excellent. We now reject 'industry standard security' as an answer and ask for the audit report.
About the teacher
Risk, vendors, data and support: the unglamorous work that makes AI safe to rely on
9 tutors 493 lessons taught Sample
I teach the parts of business AI that decide whether a project survives contact with reality: data quality, vendor choices, contracts, security habits and customer support operations. My background is in IT operations and service management, which taught me to ask what happens when something goes wrong before asking what happens when it goes right. I teach with checklists, worked...
See Tariq's profile and tutorsMore like this
Other tutors on the same or nearby topics.