AI outsourcing deliverables: set vendor reuse in 3 layers before the quote
Before asking for a quote, split the AI deliverable into 3 layers and let the vendor reuse only the generic plumbing.
Key points
- Split the deliverable into three layers
- Allow plumbing reuse, keep data & logic
- State reusable layers before the quote
- Read IP terms: add a line or keep them
Contents
Split the deliverable into three layers first
A&A perspective
When you outsource an AI system, think of what you receive in three layers: your data, your business logic and generic plumbing. Generic plumbing means the parts that take the same shape in any company's system, such as pulling data in, connecting to the AI, retrying after a failure and keeping logs.
A&A perspective
Your data is your own information that the system reads, such as past documents and your customer list. Your business logic is your own rules written into the system, such as discount conditions, work you turn down and the pass/fail criteria you apply when you accept the delivery.
Hypothetical example
Say a builder with four employees outsources a system that turns inquiry emails into draft quotes. As a hypothetical example, its data is past quotes, the customer list and the unit price sheet.
Hypothetical example
Its business logic is the discount conditions, the jobs it turns down, the rule on who approves a quote and the pass/fail criteria at acceptance. Its generic plumbing is email intake, the AI connection, retries after a failure and the run log.
A&A perspective
You split it because, treated as one block, the deliverable gives you no way to tell what you must protect from what others may use. Claim all of it and you tie up the plumbing too. Leave all of it to the vendor and even your discount conditions could reach other clients.
A&A perspective
Where business logic ends and plumbing begins changes from project to project. If a part holds even one of your own rules, put it on the business-logic side.
A&A perspective
The three-layer split is a design proposal from Automate & Augment (A&A), the company writing this article. Which data to hand over before you order is covered in "How much customer data to give an AI contractor: decide 3 tiers first". This article is about how far the vendor may use the finished deliverable.
Allow plumbing reuse, keep data and logic in-house
A&A perspective
Keep your data and business logic to yourself, and let the vendor reuse only the generic plumbing on other clients' projects. What hurts if it reaches a competitor is your data and your rules.
From the sources
Gumloop, which provides a tool for building business automation with AI, published a case study of its own support operation on February 17, 2026. It says the support team has only two people and that the system was built from the same building blocks available to every Gumloop user. It says the system grew one workflow at a time, over months.
From the sources
In a technical article on September 11, 2025, Anthropic published advice on writing tools for AI agents. It says most of the advice came from repeatedly improving its internal tools. It says the evaluations that check those tools were built on its internal workspace, including real projects, documents and messages.
A&A perspective
A&A reads both as cases where value remains even when the parts or the methods are public. What keeps its value is the part built from a company's own data and rules. Neither is about outsourcing, but a buyer can draw the same line. Drawing the protective line around data and business logic is enough.
A&A perspective
The real cases used at acceptance, when you check that the system works before taking delivery, go into your data. The pass/fail criteria are your own rules, so they go into business logic. Both copy your actual work, and you do not want them carried into other clients' projects.
Hypothetical example
In the builder's case, past inquiry emails are the real cases, and "Does the amount match the unit price sheet?" is a criterion.
| Layer | Builder's example | Vendor use on other clients' projects |
|---|---|---|
| Your data | Past quotes, customer list, unit price sheet | Not allowed |
| Business logic | Discount conditions, jobs it turns down, who approves a quote, pass/fail criteria at acceptance | Not allowed |
| Generic plumbing | Email intake, AI connection, retries after a failure, run log | Allowed |
State reusable layers before asking for a quote
A&A perspective
Tell the vendor which layers it may reuse when you ask for a quote. A vendor may estimate the work and the price based on whether it can reuse the plumbing for other clients.
A&A perspective
A&A's view is that saying "make it all ours" after delivery can mean redoing the quote. If even the plumbing must be yours alone, the vendor has to rebuild it every time, and that cost may show up in the quote.
A&A perspective
All it takes is attaching the three-layer table to your quote request email with a short note. In the builder's case, the table and the note go with the quote request for the draft-quote system.
Hypothetical example
For example: "Please keep the data and business logic exclusive to us. You are welcome to use the plumbing, such as email intake and the AI connection, on other clients' projects."
A&A perspective
If you ask several vendors for quotes, send every vendor the same table and note. With the terms aligned, you can see whether a price gap comes from how they build or from how they treat reuse.
A&A perspective
If a vendor replies, "The whole deliverable is yours," ask whether that makes the plumbing exclusive too. If it does, the quote may include the cost of rebuilding it.
A&A perspective
Some companies sell the system itself and want even the plumbing to be theirs alone. Telling vendors before the quote still lets you compare quotes that include the rebuild.
A&A perspective
If you do not plan to order similar systems again, and the vendor does not build the same kind for others, keeping the table on hand is enough.
Read IP terms to decide whether to add a line
A&A perspective
If you sign a contract, read the clause that sets the rights in the deliverables, and decide whether to add a line or keep the contract as it is. That IP clause is the part that says who owns copyright and similar rights in what the contract calls the deliverables.
Hypothetical example
Say the contract only says, "Copyright in the deliverables belongs to the Client." That line says only that the client owns the copyright. It does not tell you whether the vendor may use the plumbing on other clients' projects.
Hypothetical example
Here is an example of a line to add, calling yourself the "Client" and the vendor the "Contractor": "Data provided by the Client and the Client's business logic belong to the Client, and the Contractor will not use them on other projects."
Hypothetical example
Then add a second line: "Parts that are generic plumbing, such as data intake and the AI connection, may be reused by the Contractor on other projects."
A&A perspective
If you order by purchase order or email without a contract, write the same lines in the purchase order. Once written, anyone who takes over can check the same line.
A&A perspective
If the contract already treats each layer separately, there is nothing to add. The test is whether, after reading the clause, you can say who may use each of the three layers in the table.
Hypothetical example
In the builder's case, check whether the clause tells you if the vendor may use the unit price sheet, the discount conditions and email intake on other clients' projects.
A&A perspective
Check with a lawyer before relying on these lines legally. A&A does not give legal advice. What is shown here is a form for deciding in advance how to treat each layer.
Summary
A&A perspective
Split the deliverable into three layers: your data, your business logic and generic plumbing.
A&A perspective
Allow plumbing reuse by the vendor, and keep your data and business logic to yourself.
A&A perspective
When you ask for a quote, state the reusable layers with the table and a short note.
A&A perspective
Read the IP clause in the contract, and add a line if you cannot say who may use each of the three layers.
What you protect in an AI deliverable is two layers: your data and your business logic. Before your next quote request, draw up the three-layer table and decide whether to let the vendor reuse the plumbing.
FAQ
Isn't it safer to make the whole deliverable ours?
If what you want to protect is your data and your rules, keeping those two layers is enough. Making even the plumbing exclusive can add the cost of rebuilding it to the quote.
Can the vendor use plumbing it built for another client in our system?
Yes, if its agreement with that client allows it. When it does, ask the vendor to confirm that none of the other client's data or business logic is mixed in.
Should the contract also stop the vendor's staff from using what they learned on other work?
A&A thinks the lines are better limited to the deliverable. Restricting the staff's experience too can make vendors reluctant to take the job.
Sources & editorial note
Primary pages read for this article. Publication dates below belong to the sources; access dates record our research.
- Supporting the world’s most AI-native companies with a 2-person team
Gumloop · 2026-02-17
Accessed 2026-10-27 - Writing effective tools for agents — with agents
Anthropic · 2025-09-11
Accessed 2026-10-27