The AI Vendor Crisis Nobody's Talking About

James Purdy
Sep 9
3 min read

Key Takeaways

• The global AI in education market hit $5.88 billion in 2024 and is growing 31% annually, fueling vendor pressure on schools.• AI usage among students jumped from 66% in 2024 to 92% in 2025, yet only 19% of teachers say their schools have AI policies.• UNESCO’s 2025 survey found only 10% of schools have guidelines for AI use, despite widespread adoption.• Educational leaders need systematic vendor evaluation frameworks that protect students and institutions from compliance risks.

When I first started reaching out to senior administrators about AI compliance, I was puzzled by the reaction. These were accomplished leaders who had managed countless reforms, yet my calls about AI often ended abruptly. Emails went unanswered. Meetings declined.

It did not take long to realize the problem: they were drowning in sales pitches. Superintendents were fielding multiple calls each week, each one promising “revolutionary outcomes” and pushing for immediate decisions. After being burned, they began to assume that anyone calling about AI was just another vendor.

The Real Issue in a Nutshell

Educational institutions are not just facing the challenge of choosing the right AI tools. They are facing an onslaught of sophisticated sales tactics designed to bypass proper evaluation and shift compliance risk onto schools. Leaders know they need AI literacy and governance frameworks, but vendors are exploiting the knowledge gap to push through contracts before proper oversight can take place.

The real solution is not faster decisions or crash-course training. It is building systematic evaluation frameworks that protect schools regardless of technical expertise. Institutions that get this right now will be able to adopt AI safely. Those that do not risk being overwhelmed by complexity and legal liability.

The Scale of Educational Vulnerability

The numbers explain why the pressure is so intense. The global AI in education market reached $5.88 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at 31.2% annually through 2030. As of 2025, overall AI usage among students rose from 66% to 92% in just one year, with generative AI for assessments increasing from 53% to 88%.

Yet schools are adopting AI with little preparation. A Walton Family Foundation/Gallup survey found that in 2024–25, teachers were more likely to teach themselves AI than receive formal training. Only 19% reported their schools had a policy in place. Even the White House’s April 2025 executive order acknowledged this policy gap, directing agencies to prioritize AI education initiatives.

The readiness divide is stark. Research from Arizona State University shows that suburban, majority-white districts are about twice as likely to provide AI training as urban, rural, or high-poverty districts. That leaves many leaders making procurement decisions with minimal knowledge or support.

UNESCO’s 2025 survey of over 450 schools and universities found only 10% had AI guidelines, despite widespread adoption. In this vacuum, vendors are free to target leaders with limited technical expertise, using fear-based messaging about competitive disadvantage, artificial urgency on pricing, and promises of “seamless integration” that obscure compliance risks.

And those risks are real. Unlike older edtech, AI introduces obligations around data processing, algorithmic decision-making, and privacy under laws such as FERPA, CIPA, and IDEA. Vendors who understand this complexity can offload liability onto institutions that lack the expertise to push back.

Conclusion and Commentary

Understanding why those early conversations were so hostile changed how I approach this field. Administrators were not being obstructive. They were protecting their schools from yet another hard sell. They had learned that most AI conversations were about products, not protection.

That is exactly why I wrote my forthcoming Stop-Gap Compliance Guide. It gives senior administrators and government officials practical tools to distinguish between legitimate solutions and vendor pressure tactics, without needing deep technical expertise.

The book will be available on Amazon soon. But if you are an administrator facing vendor pressure today, reach out and I will send you the vendor evaluation checklist for free. School leaders should not need to be AI experts to safeguard their students and institutions.

About the Author

Ryan James Purdy specializes in AI governance and compliance for educational institutions. He works with school districts and government agencies worldwide to develop systematic approaches to AI adoption that prioritize student protection and institutional compliance.