---
title: "Can you change AI suppliers without starting over?"
description: "A business should be able to replace its AI supplier without surrendering what it has learned about doing its work."
canonical: "https://www.rickblalock.dev/scratch-notes/can-you-change-ai-suppliers-without-starting-over/"
date: "2026-10-12"
updated: "2026-10-12"
author: "Rick Blalock"
---

# Can you change AI suppliers without starting over?

> A business should be able to replace its AI supplier without surrendering what it has learned about doing its work.

Published: 2026-10-12

Catalog: SN-021

David Cramer has this argument that today’s AI companies won’t always get to dictate the terms. He expects more specialized tools, more local models, and vendors competing by giving customers more control.[1]

His timeline is 5 years, which sounds like an eternity in AI years. But it is interesting to think about for a business adopting AI today: what will you be able to take with you?

Imagine a contractor using an agent to prepare estimates. The owner reviews the work and makes corrections. A certain kind of access requires more labor. A customer’s purchasing process needs an extra approval. A supplier’s lead time needs checking before anyone promises a start date.

Over time, those corrections could make the system much more useful to that particular company. The business has put work into teaching it.

Then a better model arrives, the price changes, or the owner finds an agent or software that fits the work better. Can the business switch without teaching those lessons again?

> Where does the customer’s operating knowledge live? Can they inspect it, correct it, and carry it elsewhere in a form another system can use?

For an owner buying software/service/AI, it’s a question worth asking before months of work accumulate inside the product.

A business should be able to replace its AI supplier without surrendering what it has learned about doing its work.

**If you stopped paying your AI supplier tomorrow, what useful capability would your business still have?**

## Sources

[1] [David Cramer on specialized tools and model commoditization](https://x.com/zeeg/status/2107238795552977272)

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