Choosing an AI provider for your company is a decision that will affect data security, costs, and team efficiency for years to come.
Unfortunately, most companies make this decision too hastily.
They buy subscriptions to popular cloud tools for a few employees and only discover problems weeks later: exceeded limits, data on servers in the US, GDPR fines, rising costs.
This article is a checklist of 10 key questions you must ask before choosing an AI provider. The answers will help you make an informed decision and avoid costly mistakes.
Question 1: Where is my data physically stored?
Why is this important?
Server location directly impacts:
- GDPR Compliance – data transfer outside the EU requires additional legal safeguards
- Security – data in the US is subject to American law (Cloud Act, FISA)
- Speed – servers in Poland/EU = faster responses than from the US
- Legal Risk – servers outside the EU = potential penalties from Data Protection Authorities
How different providers answer:
Public Cloud AI (Global Providers):
- Servers usually in the US
- Data transferred outside the European Economic Area
- Requires Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC)
- ❌ Data leaves the European Union
PrivatAI.pl:
- Servers in Poland
- Data never leaves the country
- Full GDPR compliance without additional agreements
- ✅ Data remains in the EU
✅ The correct answer should be:
“Data is stored exclusively on servers in Poland/EU and is never transferred outside the European Economic Area.”
Question 2: Will my data be used to train your models?
Why is this important?
If your conversations with AI are used to train models:
- Your trade secrets may end up in answers for other users
- Client data can be “memorized” by the model
- Business strategies become part of the AI’s “knowledge”
- You lose control over what happens to your data
Real-life story:
Samsung banned employees from using public AI after engineers pasted source code fragments. The cloud operator used this data (according to their terms at the time) to train their models.
How different providers answer:
Public Models (Default Settings):
- Often: YES, data can be used for training
- Can be disabled in settings (but not always default)
- Even after disabling, data goes to the operator’s servers
- ⚠️ Requires active management of privacy settings
PrivatAI.pl:
- NO, data is never used for training
- The Gemma 2 model runs locally
- No possibility of “learning” from your conversations
- ✅ Full privacy
✅ The correct answer should be:
“No, your data is never used and will not be used to train models or for any other purpose other than service delivery.”
Question 3: Are there limits on the number of queries? What are they?
Why is this important?
Query limits can:
- Block work – when an employee exceeds the limit in the middle of the day
- Generate hidden costs – you have to buy additional accounts
- Frustrate the team – constant “wait 3 hours” kills productivity
- Be unfairly hidden – “unlimited*” (*up to X queries/h)
How different providers answer:
Standard Cloud Plans:
- E.g., 40 queries every 3 hours (for leading models)
- Daily query limit for intensive use
- In peak hours, the model may be unavailable
- ❌ Limits often block work
Cloud Team Plans:
- Higher limits, but still capped
- Often lack transparent information about exact numbers
- ⚠️ “Higher limits” ≠ no limits
PrivatAI.pl:
- No query limits
- You can send any number of queries 24/7
- ✅ Truly unlimited access
✅ The correct answer should be:
“There are no limits on the number of queries. You can use AI without restrictions.”
Question 4: What happens to my data after the subscription ends?
Why is this important?
This is an often overlooked but critical question:
- Will the provider delete your data?
- Within what timeframe?
- Will you be able to download it?
- Will data still be used for training?
How different providers answer:
Global Cloud Operators:
- Chat history is stored for a certain period (e.g., 30 days)
- You can request data deletion, but the process can be complex
- Lack of clear guarantees regarding data already used for training
- ⚠️ Often unclear retention policy
PrivatAI.pl:
- Data is deleted immediately after the subscription ends
- Ability to download history before termination
- Data was never used for training, so there is no risk of it “staying in the model”
- ✅ Clear deletion policy
✅ The correct answer should be:
“Your data will be completely deleted within [specific number] days of subscription termination. You will have the option to download it beforehand.”
Question 5: What AI model do you use and how does it compare to market leaders?
Why is this important?
Not every AI model is equally good:
- Response Quality – does the model understand context?
- Language Support – does it handle your local language well?
- Specialization – is the model good for your tasks?
How different providers answer:
Public Cloud:
- Leading commercial models (closed source)
- State-of-the-art models on the market
- Excellent quality, but at the price of privacy
- ✅ Highest quality (but security risk)
PrivatAI.pl:
- Bielik 11B v3
- 11 billion parameters
- In benchmarks, it achieves results comparable to leading commercial models
- Excellent local language support
- ✅ High quality + full privacy
Bielik 11B v3 Benchmarks:
| Task | Public Model (Premium) | Bielik 11B |
|---|---|---|
| Document Analysis | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Content Generation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Local Language | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Coding Support | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Summarization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
✅ The correct answer should be:
“We use the [name] model with [number] parameters, which achieves [specific results] in benchmarks. It is particularly good at [your applications].”
Question 6: How much will it cost when my team grows?
Why is this important?
AI costs should be:
- Predictable – you know exactly how much you will pay
- Scalable – you can easily add/remove users
- Transparent – no hidden fees
How different providers answer:
Standard Cloud Pricing:
- Individual Plan: ~$20/user/month
- Team Plan: ~$30/user/month (min. 2 users)
- Enterprise Plan: undisclosed (negotiations, high user minimums)
- ⚠️ Costs grow linearly, can be high for larger teams
PrivatAI.pl:
- Solo Plan: 70 PLN/month (1 person)
- Small Team Plan: 250 PLN/month (up to 5 people)
- Larger Teams: multiples of the Small Team plan
- Example: 20 people = 4× Small Team = 1000 PLN net/month
- ✅ Lower costs for teams, predictable scale
Cost Comparison for a Growing Team:
| Team | Cloud (Individual Plan) | Cloud (Team Plan) | PrivatAI.pl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | ~85 PLN | - | 86 PLN |
| 5 people | ~425 PLN | ~575 PLN | 307 PLN |
| 10 people | ~850 PLN | ~1150 PLN | 614 PLN |
| 20 people | ~1700 PLN | ~2300 PLN | 1228 PLN |
| 50 people | ~4250 PLN | ~5750 PLN | 3070 PLN |
✅ The correct answer should be:
“We have a transparent price list. For [X] people you will pay [specific amount]. You can add or remove users at any time.”
Question 7: How long does implementation take and do I need an IT team?
Why is this important?
Time is money:
- Fast Implementation – you start earning sooner
- No IT Team – you don’t need to hire specialists
- Simple Configuration – anyone can do it
How different providers answer:
Public SaaS:
- Implementation: ~5 minutes (registration and purchase)
- Does not require an IT team
- Configuration: minimal
- ✅ Fast implementation
PrivatAI.pl:
- Implementation: ~5 minutes (registration and plan selection)
- Does not require an IT team
- Configuration: zero (ready to use)
- Adding users: 2 minutes
- ✅ Fast implementation
✅ The correct answer should be:
“Implementation takes a maximum of [specific time]. You don’t need an IT team or any technical configuration.”
Question 8: What service availability guarantees (SLA) do I have?
Why is this important?
When AI stops working:
- Employees lose productivity
- Clients wait for answers
- The company loses money
How different providers answer:
Public Services (B2C/B2B):
- Often no official SLA for basic plans
- Enterprise Plans: usually 99.9% uptime
- In practice: downtime occurs during peak hours
- ⚠️ No guarantee for smaller companies
PrivatAI.pl:
- 99.9% uptime (availability)
- 24/7 monitoring
- Dedicated infrastructure (no “peak hours”)
- ✅ Guaranteed availability
✅ The correct answer should be:
“We guarantee [X]% uptime. In case of downtime longer than [Y] minutes, you will receive [specific compensation].”
Question 9: Can I process sensitive data (NDA, personal data, medical)?
Why is this important?
This question is critical for:
- Law firms (NDA agreements)
- HR departments (CVs, employee data)
- Medical companies (patient data)
- Financial companies (client data)
How different providers answer:
Public Cloud:
- Officially: allowed, but often requires complex DPA agreements
- In practice: data goes to servers outside the EEA (e.g., USA)
- GDPR Risk: high (transfer of data to third countries)
- ⚠️ Possible, but legally risky
PrivatAI.pl:
- YES, sensitive data is secure
- Servers in Poland = automatic GDPR compliance
- No model training = zero leak risk
- Data never leaves Poland
- ✅ Safe for all data types
✅ The correct answer should be:
“Yes, you can safely process all types of sensitive data. We are fully GDPR compliant and data never leaves Poland/EU.”
Question 10: What support will I get and in what language?
Why is this important?
When a problem arises:
- You need quick help in your language
- Technical support should understand your needs
- You don’t want to explain things via a translator
How different providers answer:
Global Providers:
- Support mainly in English
- Documentation: partially translated (machine translation)
- Response time: depends on the plan (priority for Enterprise)
- ⚠️ Often lack dedicated support in local language
PrivatAI.pl:
- Support in Polish (and English)
- Email and chat
- Standard plans: response in 24h
- Enterprise plans: response in 4h
- Documentation and FAQ in Polish
- ✅ Full support in your language
✅ The correct answer should be:
“We offer support in Polish/English via [channels]. Standard response time is [X] hours.”
Summary: How to Evaluate Provider Answers?
Red Flags 🚩 – avoid the provider if:
❌ They don’t know exactly where data is (or say generally “in the cloud”) ❌ They cannot guarantee that data won’t be used for training ❌ They have hidden limits (“unlimited*” with an asterisk) ❌ Costs grow unpredictably ❌ No SLA or availability guarantee ❌ They say “it’s probably GDPR compliant” instead of “we are GDPR compliant” ❌ Support only in English for a local company
Green Flags ✅ – good provider:
✅ Clearly defines data location (country/region) ✅ Guarantees no data use for training ✅ No limits or clearly defined limits ✅ Transparent pricing and predictable costs ✅ Offers SLA (availability guarantee) ✅ Full GDPR compliance without additional agreements ✅ Support in your language
How Does PrivatAI.pl Score?
| Question | PrivatAI.pl | Public Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Where is data? | 🇵🇱 Poland | 🇺🇸 USA / Outside EEA |
| 2. Model training? | ❌ Never | ⚠️ Often yes |
| 3. Query limits? | ✅ None | ❌ Yes (standard) |
| 4. After ending? | ✅ We delete data | ⚠️ Unclear |
| 5. Which model? | Gemma 2 27B | Closed Model |
| 6. Team costs? | ✅ Lower | ⚠️ Higher |
| 7. Implementation? | ✅ 5 minutes | ✅ 5 minutes |
| 8. SLA? | ✅ 99.9% | ⚠️ Depends on plan |
| 9. Sensitive data? | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Risky |
| 10. Local Support? | ✅ Yes | ❌ No / Limited |
Don’t Decide Blindly
Choosing an AI provider is a strategic decision. Ask these 10 questions to every provider you are considering.
PrivatAI.pl answers all questions with full transparency:
- 🇵🇱 Data in Poland – zero GDPR risk
- 🔒 No training – full privacy
- ⚡ No limits – work without restrictions
- 💰 Predictable costs – from 70 PLN/month
- 🚀 Implementation in 5 minutes – zero configuration
- 🇵🇱 Support in Polish – we understand your needs