The build-vs-buy question comes up in nearly every AI strategy conversation we have, and the honest answer is usually 'it depends' — but that's not very actionable.
In practice, we've found three questions predict the right call better than anything else: how differentiated is this workflow to your business, how sensitive is the underlying data, and how fast does the tool landscape in this category move.
If a workflow is core to your competitive advantage, involves sensitive proprietary data, or needs to evolve faster than vendor roadmaps typically move, custom development usually wins on a 12-18 month horizon — even though it costs more upfront.
For everything else, a well-integrated off-the-shelf tool is almost always the faster, cheaper path, and trying to build custom here is one of the most common ways teams waste a year of engineering time.