World Model Readiness Test the claims before you sign

Module · Test the claims before you sign

The Vendor & Pitch Check

Every vendor demo works. The question is whether it works on your data, your edge cases, and your terms. This module checks whether you can put a claim to the test before you commit: proof on your own data, an exit you can actually take, ownership of what you feed in, and references who will tell you the truth.

Question 1 of 5 · Proven on your data

Can you make a vendor prove their claims on your data before you sign?

A demo runs on data chosen to make it shine. A proof of concept on your messy, real data is the only test that predicts what you will actually get. Vendors who resist it are telling you something.

Question 2 of 5 · Exit is written in

If the tool underperforms, can you leave without a penalty that traps you?

The time to negotiate the exit is before you sign, when you still have leverage. Auto-renewals, multi-year lock-ins, and painful offboarding are how a disappointing tool becomes a permanent one.

Question 3 of 5 · You own your data

Is it clear, in writing, that your data and its outputs stay yours?

Read the clause on training and reuse. Some vendors treat the data you feed in, and the model improvements it produces, as theirs. Ownership decided after a dispute is ownership you have lost.

Question 4 of 5 · Lock-in is limited

If you wanted to switch vendors, how much would be built to trap you?

Proprietary formats, embedded workflows, and data you cannot export cleanly all raise the cost of leaving. Lock-in is not one decision: it accretes, until switching costs more than staying with a tool you have outgrown.

Question 5 of 5 · References were real

Have you spoken to customers the vendor did not hand-pick for you?

The three references a vendor offers are their happiest clients. The ones worth finding are the customers who churned, or who are your size in your industry. LinkedIn finds them; the vendor will not.

For the statistics · one click each

Three questions for the public picture

These do not affect your score. They feed the anonymised, aggregated statistics; groups under 8 respondents are never shown.

How does your AI vendor selection usually work?

Chosen on the pitch
Compared a few
Piloted before buying
Formal evaluation
No process yet

Do you test AI vendors on your own data before signing?

Never
Sometimes
Usually
Always
Not bought any yet

Have you been locked into an AI or software vendor before?

Not that we recall
Mildly
Yes, badly
Still trapped now
Not sure

Your context

Used to calibrate the report. Company size and sector remain in the anonymized dataset; your email does not.