Choosing the right AI vendor can have a lasting impact on your business. Use these 12 questions to assess AI providers, protect your data, understand the risks and make sure you invest in a solution that delivers real business value.
01 October 2026
What this is:
12 questions you can ask any supplier of an AI receptionist tool, plus examples of the answers that should raise concerns.
Why it matters:
Your calls, bookings and customer data are critical to your business. A supplier should be able to clearly explain where data goes, who’s responsible when things go wrong, or what it costs to leave.
The test:
A good supplier should be able to answer all 12 questions clearly and confidently. If they struggle to answer, that’s an answer in itself.
Missed calls, important after-hours messages from clients or prospects, double-booked mornings... these are all frustrating issues that an effectively deployed AI agent can help your business avoid. Finding the best solution for your firm can be tricky – but the good news is you don’t have to be a tech expert to do it. To obtain a good idea of whether the vendor is the right fit for your business, ask them the dozen questions below. Then, if necessary, keep asking them until you get clear responses. And if anyone struggles to give straight answers – that, in itself, is an answer.
1. What business outcomes should an AI solution deliver?
Why it matters: Any tool you deploy should, first and foremost, offer clear business benefits – such as happier clients and a more productive workforce.
What a bad answer sounds like:An inability to give a detailed answer about how key business benefits will be realised by using their product.
2. Where does our data go and who else can see it?
Why it matters: Customer messages and recordings of calls are business data – if they’re not stored appropriately, the wrong people may be able to access them.
What a bad answer sounds like: A lack of clarity on where the data is processed and stored, or how appropriate and secure access is maintained.
3. How do you protect our business and customer data, and how does it align to the regulatory requirements of my industry?
Why it matters: A security breach or failure to meet regulatory requirements can be seriously damaging for your business.
What a bad answer sounds like: A poor understanding of your industry’s specific regulatory demands, coupled with vagueness about mandatory data protection.
4. Is our data – or our customers’ data – used to train your models?
Why it matters: Your interactions with clients should never end up teaching someone else’s AI product.
What a bad answer sounds like: A lack of understanding that you need to protect the privacy of your data, and you don’t want it to be used to improve the AI tools deployed by your competitors.
5. Can we see what it said to our customers?
Why it matters:Transcripts, recordings and logs are vital – you’d never let a new receptionist take calls for a month unheard.
What a bad answer sounds like: Poor consideration of why this is important.
6. When it makes a mistake with a customer, whose problem is that – yours or ours?
Why it matters: The wrong booking, a missed call, a misquoted price… your customer will blame you, not the vendor.
What a bad answer sounds like: A lack of clarity as to where the responsibility for errors will lie, alongside a poor understanding of the potential effects on your business – coupled with no detail on how to avoid and rectify errors.
7. What do we need in place before this will work?
Why it matters:Your AI front desk can’t work effectively until the data it needs – such as prices, call flows and opening hours – are fully set up.
What a bad answer sounds like:Anything implying that the tool works the same way for everyone, so there won’t be much to set up in advance.
8. What happens when it doesn’t know the answer – who does the customer reach then?
Why it matters: A caller who hits a dead end or gets an unsatisfactory response is a potential lost client.
What a bad answer sounds like: Little or no clear guidance on how help the tool handle difficult or unusual queries from clients.
9. How often does it get things wrong – and how would we find out?
Why it matters: Mistakes could be serious – they would happen to a customer, live, and can damage your reputation.
What a bad answer sounds like: A lack of acknowledgement that errors may happen, and the impact they may have on your clients and your business.
10. Who do we call when it breaks – and how fast do they answer?
Why it matters: When something goes wrong, your clients may not be able to contact you – maybe resulting in a loss of business.
What a bad answer sounds like: A failure to clearly define helpdesk procedures and service level agreements.
11. What does it cost in total – and what makes the price move?
Why it matters: The price you pay should be clear and up front – and you should have a good idea of this based on your predicted usage.
What a bad answer sounds like:An inability to explain the vendor’s commercial model, and a lack of transparency on how they will bill you.
12. If we leave, what can we take with us – and what will leaving cost?
Why it matters:All the data collected should belong to you – and you should be able to take it with you.
What a bad answer sounds like:An unsatisfactory explanation of the costs involved in moving to another supplier, and a lack of clarity on what happens to your data.
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