We stay vendor-neutral, so this page does not rank products. It gives you the weighted criteria, the questions that surface real capability, and the answers that should end a conversation.
Ask: Show this running on our workflow with our data shape, not the demo dataset.
Walk away when: The vendor cannot describe your process back to you in its own words.
Ask: Where is data stored and processed, who can access it, and is it used for training?
Walk away when: Training rights on your data are buried in the default terms.
Ask: Which of our systems do you already connect to in production, at a named customer?
Walk away when: Every connection is described as possible but none exists yet.
Ask: What does your evaluation method measure, and how does it behave on edge cases?
Walk away when: Accuracy is quoted as a single number with no evaluation set behind it.
Ask: Model the annual cost at our real volume, including review labor and overage pricing.
Walk away when: Pricing only works at pilot volume and jumps at production scale.
Ask: What is the notice period when a model or endpoint changes underneath us?
Walk away when: Silent model swaps with no notice or version pinning.
Ask: What do we get on the way out: data, configuration, prompts, and history?
Walk away when: Configuration and history are not exportable in any usable form.
Weights are a starting point. In regulated industries, data handling usually outweighs workflow fit.
Send us the vendors and your requirements. We will score them against this framework and tell you what each one is actually strong at.