Should I Move Off OpenAI?
Only if one (or more) of these becomes true.
Economics
AI costs scale with usage faster than revenue scales with the business. This doesn't show up immediately. It shows up after the product works.
- Usage increases automatically as the product grows
More engagement, more workflows, more calls per user. No one explicitly "turns this on." - AI spend grows directly with that usage
Every request has marginal cost. Heavy users quietly dominate spend. - Revenue growth doesn't keep pace by default
Pricing was set earlier. Margins look fine now, fragile later.
If AI cost growth decouples from revenue growth, an architecture problem is forming.
Latency
Response times become variable and unpredictable. This isn't about averages. It's about when latency leaks into user experience.
- Tail latency spikes (P95, P99)
Dashboards look fine. Users complain. - Workflows break mid-flow
Retries, refreshes, abandonment. - UX workarounds appear
Shortened context, spinners, "this may take a moment."
Once users notice latency, model choice stops being invisible.
Compliance
You need tighter control over where data goes and how it's handled. This appears as a hard requirement, not a gradual shift.
- Enterprise requirements surface
Security reviews, procurement questions. - Regulatory or policy expectations tighten
Internal or external constraints appear. - Data control becomes non-negotiable
Certain data cannot leave specific environments.
If you can't explain data flow clearly, default APIs stop being acceptable.
Architecture
The abstraction that helped you move fast is now hiding decisions you need to make.
- Routing becomes a product decision
Different workflows justify different capability levels. - Capacity becomes a constraint
Throughput and memory pressure appear under load. - Operations becomes mandatory
Retries, fallbacks, observability, cost attribution.
When abstractions hide decisions the product depends on, they become risk.
If none of these are true, DO NOT move.
OpenAI remains the right default until usage grows, margins tighten, or latency starts showing up in user experience.