A new survey by Zapier suggests the majority of large organisations would face material disruption if their primary AI vendor became unavailable, highlighting a significant gap between executives’ confidence about vendor migrations and the practical realities of switching providers.
Zapier polled 542 US enterprise executives for its study of AI vendor lock‑in. Nearly three‑quarters (74%) said losing their main AI supplier would disrupt day‑to‑day operations or leave them unable to function. Only 6% believed they could stop using their primary AI vendor with no disruption, while 47% said at least one key business function would break and 27% said AI supports most or all of their operations.
Despite that dependence, executives expressed strong confidence in their ability to migrate: 89% said they could switch AI vendors within a month, with 41% estimating a move could be completed in two to five business days and 13% claiming it could be done in a single day.
That confidence contrasts with actual experience. Of the 66% of respondents who had attempted a migration, 58% said the process failed or took far more effort than expected; only 42% described the transition as smooth.
Zapier’s findings point to several common causes of lock‑in. Data migration difficulties and overdependence on a single vendor were each cited by 46% of respondents as primary risks. Contractual constraints and unclear pricing also featured: 30% said clearer pricing, features and contract terms would most alleviate lock‑in concerns, while 26% sought easier data transfers and 24% wanted more flexible pricing models.
Organisations are taking measures to reduce dependency. The survey found 47% now have dedicated internal teams to evaluate and manage AI vendors, 44% operate with multiple AI vendors concurrently, and 42% maintain contingency plans.
More than a third (35%) incorporate open‑source alternatives, 34% design for data portability and standard APIs, and 33% rely on third‑party integration or orchestration tools. Meanwhile, 31% reported building proprietary AI tools, and 29% said they negotiate shorter, more flexible contracts to retain leverage.
“Companies adopted AI to move faster, and it worked. But that speed created a new kind of dependency that most teams didn’t plan for,” said Emily Mabie, senior AI automation engineer at Zapier. “The organisations in the best position right now aren’t the ones avoiding vendor commitments. They’re the ones that built flexibility into their stack from the start, so switching a model or a provider doesn’t mean rebuilding everything around it.”
The survey underscores a tension for chief operating officers and technology leaders: executives want the benefits of deep AI integration but also seek the ability to change providers rapidly.
Zapier’s data suggests that building flexibility into architecture, prioritising data portability and clarifying commercial terms are among the most common strategies enterprises are adopting to manage the risk of vendor lock‑in.
