What is an AI vendor exit plan?

It is a transition plan that defines dependency unwind, data portability controls, cutover sequencing, and owner-accountable actions before contract exit.

Who should own vendor exit planning?

Procurement usually leads commercial controls, while engineering and operations own cutover execution, with legal and security handling contractual and data closure evidence.

When should teams start preparing an exit plan?

Start as soon as renewal risk rises or fallback strategy is required, not only at contract end, so migration and portability risks can be reduced early.

AI Vendor Exit Plan Generator

Create a transition-ready vendor exit plan that covers dependency control, migration sequencing, and post-contract risk closure.

Build a transition-ready exit plan that aligns procurement, legal, operations, and engineering before removing dependency on an AI vendor.

Vendor nameAnnual spend bandDependency depthData portability statusContract runwayReplacement readinessCritical workflow countReview cadence

Exit risk score: 4 | Risk tier: High | Execution mode: Accelerated transition

Critical actions: 3 | High actions: 4

Phase	Action	Owner	Priority	Due window
Phase 1 - Dependency mapping	Inventory every workflow, SLA, and owner currently tied to the incumbent vendor.	AI Operations	Critical	Week 1
Phase 1 - Contract controls	Freeze net-new dependency scope and enforce executive approval for scope expansion.	Procurement + Legal	High	Week 1
Phase 2 - Replacement readiness	Validate replacement vendor for top critical workflows with measurable pass thresholds.	Product + Engineering	Critical	Weeks 2-4
Phase 2 - Commercial fallback	Prepare short-term extension fallback with price and SLA guardrails if cutover slips.	Procurement	High	Weeks 2-4
Phase 3 - Cutover execution	Run shadow traffic for critical workflows, compare quality/cost, and approve cutover gate.	AI Platform	Critical	Weeks 4-8
Phase 4 - Post-exit hardening	Audit data deletion confirmation, access revocation, and billing closure evidence.	Security + Finance	High	Weeks 8-10
Phase 3 - Operational resilience	Create runbook with rollback owner paths for each critical workflow during cutover week.	Reliability Lead	High	Weeks 4-6

# AI Vendor Exit Plan - Current AI Vendor

## Exit context
- Annual spend band: $100k-$500k
- Dependency depth: High
- Data portability status: Partial export support
- Contract runway: 60-120 days
- Replacement readiness: Pilot ready
- Critical workflow count: 4
- Review cadence: Weekly

## Risk summary
- Exit risk score (1-5): 4
- Risk tier: High
- Execution mode: Accelerated transition
- Critical actions: 3

## Exit plan table
| # | Phase | Action | Owner | Priority | Due window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phase 1 - Dependency mapping | Inventory every workflow, SLA, and owner currently tied to the incumbent vendor. | AI Operations | Critical | Week 1 |
| 2 | Phase 1 - Contract controls | Freeze net-new dependency scope and enforce executive approval for scope expansion. | Procurement + Legal | High | Week 1 |
| 3 | Phase 2 - Replacement readiness | Validate replacement vendor for top critical workflows with measurable pass thresholds. | Product + Engineering | Critical | Weeks 2-4 |
| 4 | Phase 2 - Commercial fallback | Prepare short-term extension fallback with price and SLA guardrails if cutover slips. | Procurement | High | Weeks 2-4 |
| 5 | Phase 3 - Cutover execution | Run shadow traffic for critical workflows, compare quality/cost, and approve cutover gate. | AI Platform | Critical | Weeks 4-8 |
| 6 | Phase 4 - Post-exit hardening | Audit data deletion confirmation, access revocation, and billing closure evidence. | Security + Finance | High | Weeks 8-10 |
| 7 | Phase 3 - Operational resilience | Create runbook with rollback owner paths for each critical workflow during cutover week. | Reliability Lead | High | Weeks 4-6 |

## Governance checklist
1. Lock owner accountability for every exit action with dated checkpoints.
2. Require cutover sign-off based on quality, SLA, and cost-fit evidence.
3. Archive contract, security, and billing closure evidence in one audit packet.
4. Activate executive review checkpoint every week until the incumbent dependency is removed.

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