The software you buy today will contain AI tomorrow — often without the contract saying anything about it. Vendors add AI features through an update, and the terms under which that AI handles your data are written down nowhere. The moment to arrange this is at signing or renewal, not when something goes wrong.
Why standard contracts fall short
Standard SaaS contracts are written for software that does what it says on the box. AI changes that: the model learns, uses data and produces output that can be wrong or biased. A contract that says nothing about this leaves open exactly the questions that matter with AI — and the vendor usually fills that silence in its own favour.
You don't need to reopen the whole contract for this. A short AI addendum to the existing contract will do, as long as it covers the right points.
Five clauses to lock down
Data use and model training: may the vendor use your data to train its models, and can you switch that off? Without an explicit agreement the answer is often a tacit ‘yes’.
Transparency: which AI features are active, and are you informed when new ones are added? You don't want AI in your chain that nobody consciously turned on.
Liability: who is responsible if the AI produces a wrong or discriminatory outcome that you then use? Set out that the vendor can't simply escape this.
Security and data location: where is your data processed, and do the AI components meet the same security requirements as the rest of the service?
Exit: can you leave without losing your data or your history? AI makes lock-in subtler — your data is sometimes woven into models, prompts and configurations.
Don't forget the chain: third-party AI
Many vendors don't build their AI themselves but buy it in from third parties — a model provider behind the scenes. That means your data may end up with a party you never selected. Ask for transparency about those sub-processors, negotiate an approval right for new AI subcontractors, and make sure liability flows down the entire chain.
What you'd do now
Inventory which SaaS in your landscape contains AI or will soon, and determine the risk class per system.
Draw up one standard AI addendum with the points above and include it in every new tender and every renewal. That way you arrange it at the front end — far cheaper than repairing it afterwards.
This article provides general information and is not legal or financial advice. Want to apply it to your own situation? Get in touch.