Buying AI software for a trade firm: 10 questions on lock-in, data export and vendor risk

Before you buy AI software for a trade firm, get written answers on five things: how long you're tied in, how you get your data out, who can see and train on your data, what it can do without your approval, and what happens to your data if the supplier closes. If they can't answer in plain English, don't sign.

Why does lock-in matter more with AI tools?

Because an AI tool gets more useful the more of your business it learns: your rates, your customers, your exclusions, your supplier prices. That's the point of it, and it's also what you lose if you leave.

Owners we spoke to raised this without being prompted. A builder and developer in Hertfordshire running six projects asked "Is it open sourced, or is it closed?" and "How safe is all that?", then named his real fear:

A heating and gas engineer in Northern Ireland with about 700 gas customers was held back by the opposite problem: his current job software has no open connection for other tools, and he was afraid of losing six or seven years of records if he moved.

What are the 10 questions?

Send these by email before your trial starts, so the answers are in writing.

Subject: Questions before we start a trial

Hi supplier name,

Before we start a trial of product at business name, could you answer these in writing?

1. What is the minimum contract term, and how much notice do we give to cancel?
2. Can the price go up during our term, and how much notice do you give of a rise?
3. How do we export all our data (customers, quotes, invoices, messages, price lists), in what file format, and is there a charge?
4. If we cancel, how long do you keep our data, and how do we ask you to delete it?
5. Is our data or our customers' data used to train any AI model, yours or a third party's?
6. Where is our data stored and processed, and which other companies process it for you?
7. Will you sign a data processing agreement with us?
8. What can the software send, post or change without our approval (emails, WhatsApps, Xero, supplier orders, job status)?
9. Which systems does it connect to directly (for us: Xero, Gmail, Outlook, WhatsApp, job software), and what happens if a connection breaks?
10. If your company closes or is sold, what happens to our data and how much notice would we get?

Thanks,
Your name
Phone

How do you check the answers?

Some answers you can test in a trial rather than take on trust.

The big general AI tools are open about some of this on their own pages. As of October 2026, OpenAI's ChatGPT Business FAQ says OpenAI does not train on workspace data, that a workspace needs at least two paid seats, and that self-service data export is not available in Business workspaces. Anthropic's Claude Team plan needs a minimum of two members and supports up to 150. Microsoft's Copilot Business prices are listed with yearly or monthly commitments, both auto-renewing. These are the kind of plain facts you should expect from any supplier.

What does a 12-month contract cost you if it doesn't work out?

More than the monthly price suggests, because you pay for the months after you've stopped using it. A renovation builder we work with had signed a 12-month job management contract, paid £500 for training, and ended up on the wrong package.

Annual billing can be cheaper per month: Claude Team, for instance, lists 20 US dollars a seat billed annually against 25 US dollars billed monthly. That saving is worth having only once you know you'll keep the tool. Trial monthly first. Our guide to software contracts for trades covers notice periods and price-rise clauses in more detail.

What should you keep outside the AI tool?

Keep your master records in systems you control, so no single supplier holds the only copy.

1. Accounts stay in Xero, QuickBooks or Sage.

   The AI can post drafts to them, but the ledger is yours and separate.

2. Customer list exported monthly.

   A spreadsheet of names, addresses, phone numbers and gas or service dates, saved to your own drive.

3. Quotes and invoices as PDFs in your own folders.

   One folder per job, so your history survives a change of software.

4. Your price list and rate card in a file you own.

   It took you years to build. See teaching AI your rate card.

5. Email and WhatsApp on your own accounts.

   Don't let a supplier set up a business number or email domain you can't take with you.

What about data protection?

If you put customer names, addresses or phone numbers into an AI tool, you're responsible for that personal data. GOV.UK says businesses must keep personal data secure and accurate, tell people how it's used, and pay the ICO's data protection fee unless they're exempt; for most small businesses it's £52 or £78 a year. The ICO has a short self-assessment to check whether you need to pay. Ask your AI supplier for a data processing agreement and a list of who else handles your data.

Should you worry if the supplier is a start-up?

Worry enough to plan for it. A new supplier may build faster around your trade, but has less track record. The questions above protect you either way: month-to-month terms, a tested export, and master records outside the tool mean that if they close, you lose convenience, not your business history.

Common questions