Getting a code export is not the same as owning your product. Before you pick an AI app builder, no-code platform or agency, check what you'll really walk away with: the code, the infrastructure, the data and the knowledge to keep building.
Downloading your code and owning your product aren't the same thing. Most tools will hand you the files — but a folder of AI-generated code you can't read, maintain, or hand to a developer isn't ownership.
Real ownership is owning the understanding: a spec you — and any developer — can build on.
The easiest time to avoid vendor lock-in is before you sign anything.
The hardest time is after the first version is live, the product is working, and the team realizes the original route is harder to extend than expected.