Build the product promise beyond the model
The choice: own the decision layer, not just the prompt
Choose to make the model a replaceable execution layer, while your own system determines which customer context, task status, permissions, evaluation, and route apply to a request. This is an editorial design recommendation, not a conclusion technically demonstrated by the sources. The sources have a different, limited scope: the European Commission describes guidelines for providers of general-purpose AI models under the AI Act and says those obligations became applicable from 2 August 2025. For a product team, the practical translation is this: treat a provider change as a test of your own product contract, not as replacing a single API call.
Design six proprietary layers that can withstand a switch
Store customer context outside the prompt, so the same relevant information remains available when the model route changes. Keep workflow state in your own application: which step is in progress, which input has been approved, and what a user needs to do next. Link permissions to the user, organisation, and action, not to the individual model call. Make evaluations repeatable with fixed representative tasks and acceptance criteria. Collect observability data on routing, errors, outcomes, and human corrections. Finally, let a routing rule select which permitted route a task receives. This structure is a useful architectural framework; the supplied passages do not specify how these layers should be built technically or which provider is the best fit.
Use a switch register before you become dependent
Create a small register for one critical workflow and test it with every significant model or provider change. For each step, record: the purpose of the workflow, owner of the customer context, source of the state, required permission, evaluation set, logged signals, primary route, fallback, and decision point. The practical artefact reads: “For one critical workflow, record who owns the context, state, evaluations, permissions, observability, and routing rule; also note the fallback and the point at which a provider switch is approved.” This reveals whether your product promise continues to work when the execution layer changes. The Commission says its guidelines help actors in the AI ecosystem understand whether obligations apply to them and what is expected of them; therefore, assess separately which role your organisation has. This approach does not guarantee continuity, lower costs, compliance, or better output: the passages contain no evidence about provider performance, migration costs, or the legal position of an individual product.
