Why you should not rely on (only) one AI provider?
Tags: ai, aiforbusiness
Published: 2023-04-11 16:00:25

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular across various industries. Many businesses are using AI to automate processes, improve decision-making, and gain a competitive advantage. However, relying on only one AI service provider ([check our AI APIs landscape](https://www.edenai.co/post/a-comprehensive-view-of-all-ai-apis-in-2023?referral=not-only-one-provider)) may not be the best approach for businesses looking to leverage AI for their operations. Here’s why:

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## **1. Vendor locking**

One of the main reasons why relying on a single AI service provider can be risky is that it can lead to vendor lock-in. Vendor lock-in happens when a business becomes too dependent on a single vendor for a particular product or service. Many businesses launched building their product on top of OpenAI or other AI services providers only. This can make it difficult to switch to a new vendor if the current vendor's service is no longer meeting the business's needs or becomes too expensive.

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Integrating an AI provider is not free (connector development, testing phases, contracting, etc.), and the cognitive bias we all have of loss aversion can mean that we end up settling for a vendor that doesn't really meet our needs.

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## **2. Technology access limitations**

Another reason relying on only one AI service provider can be risky is that it can limit a business's access to the latest AI technologies ([check our comparison between OpenAI and other AI providers](https://www.edenai.co/post/openai-gpt-3-vs-other-models-should-ai-companies-be-really-worried?referral=not-only-one-provider)). The field of AI is rapidly evolving, and new techniques and algorithms are constantly being developed. By relying on a single provider (even a good one), a business may miss out on new and innovative AI technologies that are being developed by other providers.

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## **3. A single point of (possible) failure**

In addition, relying on a single AI service provider can also create a single point of failure. If the provider experiences downtime or other technical issues (which happens even for big AI providers for multiple reasons), the business may be unable to access critical AI services, which could have a significant impact on operations.

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This is why it is imperative to have a backup plan and a fallback strategy in place. The idea is to have a provider that handles data well or cheaply as a primary provider and then redirects the requests to a secondary provider in case of a problem.

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## **4. Limited customization**

Finally, relying on only one AI service provider can also limit a business's ability to customize and optimize AI models for their specific needs. Different AI providers may have different strengths and weaknesses, and by working with multiple providers, businesses can take advantage of the strengths of each provider and optimize their AI models for maximum performance.

We are working at Eden AI to highlight the differences between the different AI service providers. We have currently written two guides to show the differences between [automatic transcription service](https://www.edenai.co/post/ultimate-guide-of-speech-to-text-apis?referral=not-only-one-provider) providers and [resume parsers](https://www.edenai.co/post/ultimate-guide-to-resume-parser-apis-in-2023?referral=not-only-one-provider).

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## **Multi AI providers approach**

To conclude, while it may be tempting to rely on a single AI service provider for convenience, businesses should consider the potential risks of vendor lock-in, limited access to new technologies, single points of failure, and limited customization and optimization. By working with multiple providers, businesses can mitigate these risks and take advantage of the strengths of each provider to maximize the benefits of AI for their operations.

This is precisely why we developed [Eden AI](https://app.edenai.run/user/register?referral=not-only-one-provider). To offer our users all the flexibility they need in using different AI service providers. We have created an elegant standard that allows you to instantly switch providers. All this can be done without impacting the operation of the teams.

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**[Create your Account on Eden AI](https://app.edenai.run/user/register?referral=not-only-one-provider)**