Data export and portability: the lock-in question your AI voice agent vendor avoids
If you decide to leave, how many days to recover transcripts + audio + CRM data? Here's what's legally yours and the 3 lock-in warning signals to spot before signing.
- agent vocal ia
- export
- donnees
- portabilite
'What if I want to leave?' is the question every AI voice agent buyer should ask before signing — and the one few really do. Yet it determines whether you build a fatal dependency or a partnership. Here's what's legally yours and the 3 warning signals.
What's yours (always)#
- Full transcripts of all your conversations (GDPR Article 20: right to portability).
- Raw audio recordings if you enabled them (same rights).
- CRM contacts created by the agent (name, phone, booking, source) — original customer data.
- Your custom prompts and flow configurations — your IP, not the vendor's.
What's not yours#
- The TTS/STT/LLM algorithms (vendor's or subcontractor's property).
- SIP routing infrastructure (unless you port your number).
- Models fine-tuned on aggregated customer data (special case).
- Proprietary synthetic voices (custom ElevenLabs etc.) — you license the usage.
Timeframes and formats to require in contract#
- On-demand export: 5 business days max.
- Transcript format: structured JSON or CSV, UTF-8 encoding.
- Audio format: MP3 or 16-bit WAV, per-call file or aggregated as preferred.
- Post-termination deletion: 30 days max after last invoice, destruction certificate on request.
- Export cost: ZERO. If the vendor charges, major red flag.
3 lock-in warning signals to sign about#
- Cancellation notice > 30 days on a monthly plan — designed to keep you forcibly.
- Migration / export fees — charging you to release YOUR own data is illegal in the EU.
- Closed proprietary format for transcripts — if the only format is 'ours', you're trapped.
The month-1 test#
Request a full data export after 30 days of service. Received in < 5 days, open format (JSON/CSV/MP3), free? Good partner. > 10 days, obscure format, or 'not in your plan'? Prepare immediate migration, you're in lock-in territory. This test saves businesses every month.
The hidden benefit of the test#
Doing the export regularly (monthly or quarterly) has another benefit: you keep transcripts to train other tools (customer analytics, reporting), even if you stay. That's operational resilience, not just migration insurance. First month VocazAI free to test the export without pressure.