The Build-or-Buy AI Debate Is a Distraction.
The Build-or-Buy AI Debate Is a Distraction. What Should We Be Asking Instead?
The real question: a unified customer intelligence layer that senses, decides, and acts at scale.
Build or buy is the question of the year in AI. It's also the wrong one. While an 18–24 month custom build works its way through committee, AI-native platforms ship several more model generations — so the honest question isn't which approach is better, it's whether you can afford to wait.
Underneath it sits something boards should care about more than either answer: NRR is the flattering headline, GRR is the floor, and the floor is where enterprise value gets validated or quietly exposed. Your customer, meanwhile, doesn't care how you got there. They care whether you show up as one team.
