What you are actually buying
Start by separating four arrangements. With a referral, the provider sells and supports the software. A setup consultant configures a workflow in an account you control. A managed service adds agreed monitoring and support. A custom application combines an interface, business logic and an AI API. Each arrangement should state who bills for software, usage and ongoing work.
Five useful projects to scope
A website FAQ assistant can answer from approved pages and hand a question to a person. A content workflow can turn an owned recording into draft captions and clips for approval. A document assistant can help a team search a permitted library. An automation can prepare a lead-routing task without sending it before review. A training package can teach a team to repeat one useful workflow. Define one measurable outcome before adding more features.
Who owns the accounts and the work?
A customer-owned provider account can make access, billing and handover clearer. Document the administrator, permissions, source files, automations, exports and deletion process. A service provider should not need the customer’s personal password. Ownership of a workflow does not automatically give you rights to every voice, image or document used inside it.
Put the full cost on one page
Separate discovery, implementation, provider subscriptions, metered AI usage and support. Ask for a monthly usage cap, alerts, an overage approval rule and an exit route. An unlimited service promise needs a clear definition; model calls, audio minutes and automation credits can make a flat fee costly to deliver.
Check a proposed reseller relationship
An affiliate program is not automatically a reseller license. Check the specific partner agreement before offering a vendor subscription under another brand. OpenAI’s business agreement provides for customer applications integrated with its APIs and prohibits buying, selling or transferring API keys. Build and support a useful application within the applicable agreement instead of selling access credentials. Confirm each provider’s terms for the actual delivery model.
Test the handoff, not just the demonstration
Use realistic questions, missing information, expired sources and deliberate mistakes. Check what the system does when it cannot answer. Keep human approval for consequential messages or changes, document the failure path and agree who maintains the system after launch. A polished demo is a beginning; repeatable work and an understandable handover are the purchase criteria.
Sources and scope
Provider information checked October 18, 2026. This is a service-buying framework; it is not a claim that Modernist Review is an authorized reseller or currently accepts implementation orders.