AI procurement agreements for New Zealand technology deals

AI deals often raise extra questions that a standard software agreement may not deal with well, such as what data is being used, whether outputs can be relied on, who owns improvements, what rights exist over prompts or training inputs, and how liability should be allocated if the tool produces problematic results. Procurement terms may also need to address testing, human oversight, service limitations and vendor claims about performance. Those issues can materially affect risk, especially where the AI tool is used in customer-facing or operational decision-making.

It is usually worth it when the AI product is important to your operations, uses sensitive or commercially valuable information, or will be integrated into customer workflows, internal decision-making or regulated environments. A short vendor form or generic IT contract may not deal properly with data rights, output ownership, usage restrictions, audit rights or responsibility for errors. The legal position depends in part on how information is handled in practice, so the contract should reflect the real project rather than broad assumptions about software supply.

Common terms include the scope of the solution, implementation responsibilities, fees, service levels, intellectual property ownership or licensing, permitted data use, confidentiality, privacy-related obligations, warranties, liability caps, termination rights and dispute procedures. In AI matters, the wording may also need to address model outputs, reliance limits, retraining or improvement rights, third-party tools, and whether customer data can be used beyond delivering the service. Which of those points matter most depends on the product, the deal structure and the factual context.

Key inputs include whether you are the customer or supplier, what the AI tool actually does, what information goes into it, whether personal information is involved, how outputs will be used, and whether the supplier relies on third-party models or infrastructure. It also matters whether the deal includes implementation services, custom development, ongoing support or usage-based pricing. The right drafting depends on your actual data flows, including what you collect, why you use it and who receives it, not just the marketing description of the product.

Sometimes a template is a starting point, but it may leave important gaps. Supplier paper is often written to favour the vendor's assumptions about data rights, liability, service levels and output risk. Online precedents can also be too generic for AI-specific issues, especially where the deal involves proprietary data, customer-facing outputs or sector-specific compliance concerns. A tailored agreement is usually more useful where the commercial stakes are higher or where the transaction involves more than a simple off-the-shelf software subscription.

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Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the AI Procurement Agreement service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

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