How to evaluate an AI growth partner
Seven questions that separate partners who build durable systems from those selling automation theatre.
Amara Whitfield
Head of Growth Strategy
The seven questions
Any credible partner will answer all seven without hesitation. Hesitation on more than two is a reliable signal.
- What commercial metric will move, and by when?
- Who owns this system after handover, and how are they trained?
- What happens when the system is wrong?
- Where does our data live, and who can access it?
- Which parts are bespoke and which are configuration?
- What does month thirteen look like without you?
- Show me a deployment where the result was disappointing and what you changed.
Warning signals
Model names used as differentiators, refusal to discuss handover, and case studies without a named metric are the three most common indicators of a demonstration business rather than an implementation one.
Contracting for outcomes
Tie at least part of the engagement to the metric identified in question one. Partners confident in their method will accept that; partners selling activity will explain why it is not possible.
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