AI Vendor Evaluation

Framework: Venkatesan, R. and Lecinski, J. (2026) The AI Marketing Canvas, 2nd ed. Stanford Business Books.

Position in the Canvas: Step 2 — Experimentation. Use this skill to select which tools enter the experiment stage. Use meta-ai-tools-audit as the reference catalogue when the client does not yet have a shortlist. Use playbook-ai-automation-workflow once a tool has been selected and an automation build is underway.

Use when

• Structured 8-factor vendor evaluation framework for AI marketing tools, based on Venkatesan & Lecinski's The AI Marketing Canvas (2nd ed., Stanford Business Books, 2026). Scores each tool against EA market accessibility, data requirements, integration compatibility, team capability, and total cost in UGX, then produces a shortlist with 30-day experiment briefs. Invoke when a client has completed the ai-readiness-diagnostic and is at Canvas Step 2 (Experimentation) and is ready to select specific AI tools for structured trials. Also invoke when a client wants to compare 2–4 named tools before purchasing or committing budget.
• Use this skill when it is the closest match to the requested deliverable or workflow.