Tool Gate · How it works
How the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit gate works
How the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit grades a vendor's marketed claims one by one — each claim scored as the weaker of proof and contract — then rolls the vendor up to its worst claim: a high-stakes gate forces WALK AWAY on a material ROI or autonomy claim that is both unproven and uncontracted.
How the gate works
This tool grades a software / AI vendor's marketed claims, one by one, before you sign. It reads 6 claims and rolls them into one verdict — the worst, never the average — and then a gate that can only make it worse.
The 6 claims
| Claim | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 99.9% uptime SLA | SUBSTANTIATEDproof 3 · contract 3 |
| SOC 2 Type II certified | SUBSTANTIATEDproof 3 · contract 2 |
| Your data is never used for training | SUBSTANTIATEDproof 2 · contract 3 |
| Native Salesforce + Slack connectors | SUBSTANTIATEDproof 3 · contract 2 |
| 24/7 human support, 1-hour response | SUBSTANTIATEDproof 2 · contract 2 |
| Cuts ticket-handling cost 40% in 90 daysfix first | RED FLAGhigh-stakes ROI · proof 0 · contract 0 |
The verdict bands
A material ROI or autonomy claim that is both unproven (proof 0) and unbacked by contract (contract 0) is a RED FLAG that forces WALK AWAY no matter how clean every other claim reads — the promise you are actually buying cannot be the one with nothing behind it.
In the worked sample it reads WALK AWAY — Five of six claims read SUBSTANTIATED — uptime, SOC 2, data handling, connectors and support all carry proof and matching contract backing. But the one you are actually buying, a 40% cost-cut ROI promise, has zero proof and zero contract language. A high-stakes ROI claim that is both unproven and uncontracted is a RED FLAG, and one red flag rolls the whole vendor to WALK AWAY however tidy the rest looks. The one thing to fix first: The 40% cost-cut ROI claim is unproven and not in the contract — get a written, measurable ROI commitment (or a pilot with named success criteria) before signing. Until that claim moves off RED FLAG, the vendor stays WALK AWAY..
Common questions
Can every claim look survivable on the How the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny gate works and the company still read WALK AWAY?
Yes. The roll-up takes the worst of 6 claims — never the average — then a worsen-only gate, the High-stakes gate, escalates when trouble clusters. In the worked sample it reads WALK AWAY because five of six claims read SUBSTANTIATED — uptime, SOC 2, data handling, connectors and support all carry proof and matching contract backing. But the one you are actually buying, a 40% cost-cut ROI promise, has zero proof and zero contract language. A high-stakes ROI claim that is both unproven and uncontracted is a RED FLAG, and one red flag rolls the whole vendor to WALK AWAY however tidy the rest looks.
What is a worsen-only gate?
A dispositive rule that can only lower a verdict, never raise it. One fatal flaw overrides an otherwise-set of survivable lines, because a single disqualifying gap shouldn't hide behind an average of the healthy ones. The tool also names the one thing to fix first — here, "The 40% cost-cut ROI claim is unproven and not in the contract — get a written, measurable ROI commitment (or a pilot with named success criteria) before signing. Until that claim moves off RED FLAG, the vendor stays WALK AWAY.".
A scrutiny aid for your own vendor evaluation — not legal advice. It scores the vendor's pitch, not people, and does not interpret your contract or determine legal rights; marketing-claim substantiation is governed by the FTC, and counsel should review any agreement before you sign.
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Interactive — renders the live diagram
<iframe src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-vendor-claim-contract-scrutiny-kit.html" title="How the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit gate works — RedHub AI" width="760" height="1859" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px"></iframe>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-vendor-claim-contract-scrutiny-kit">How the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit gate works</a> — by <a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a>, the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>Image + link — a static picture for any blog
<a href="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-vendor-claim-contract-scrutiny-kit"><img src="https://redhub.ai/visuals/tool/ai-vendor-claim-contract-scrutiny-kit-share.png" alt="Diagram of the AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit: six vendor claims rolled up worst-not-average, a high-stakes gate, and the vendor reading WALK AWAY on one unproven, uncontracted ROI claim." width="760" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px"></a>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif"><a href="https://redhub.ai">RedHub AI</a> — the AI that tells you when to doubt it.</p>This is how AI Vendor Claim & Contract Scrutiny Kit works. More diagrams in the Visual Field Guide.