Fractional head of AI, without the full-time hire.
A fractional head of AI is the senior AI leader most companies can't justify hiring full-time: strategy, governance, and adoption, covered in a few days a month.
Who it's for
Companies of 50 to 500 people, outside of tech, in one of two spots. Either a pilot already happened and quietly died, or leadership keeps getting asked "what's our AI plan?" and doesn't have one. Both are leadership gaps, not tool gaps. You don't need another license. You need someone accountable for adoption.
What you get every month
- Strategy that stays current. A quarterly roadmap refresh plus a monthly executive review, so the plan tracks what the tools can actually do now.
- Governance. Usage policy, data boundaries, and approval paths, sized for a 200-person company instead of an enterprise legal department.
- Team enablement. Workflow rollouts and training cadence, so adoption widens instead of pooling around two enthusiasts.
- Vendor and tool decisions. Tool-agnostic selection with your stack and your data in mind, not a reseller's margin.
The 30/70 operating system
Every month runs on the same split the whole practice is built on: AI success is 30% technology and process, 70% people. The calendar reflects it. Most of the retainer's time goes to training and adoption follow-through, because that's where AI initiatives live or die. The tool decisions and workflow design are the easy 30%.
Hire an AI consultant, an AI implementation consultant, or a fractional head of AI?
An AI consultant is the right call when you need an outside opinion: a recommendation, an audit, a second set of eyes. An AI implementation consultant fits when there's one defined project to build and hand over. A fractional head of AI is for the company that needs the function, not the project: someone who owns the roadmap, answers for adoption numbers, and is still there next quarter when the landscape has shifted again.
Not sure which you need? Start with the AI audit or take the free AI readiness assessment first. Both end with an honest read on whether you need ongoing leadership at all.
FAQ
What does a fractional head of AI do?
A fractional head of AI runs your AI function part-time: quarterly strategy, tool and vendor decisions, governance, team enablement, and reporting to leadership. It's the work a Chief AI Officer would do, scaled to a company that's too big to improvise and too small for an AI department.
Should we hire an AI consultant or a fractional head of AI?
An AI consultant fits when you need recommendations or a single build, and an AI implementation consultant is the right hire for a one-off project. A fractional head of AI owns outcomes month over month: the roadmap, the rollouts, the adoption numbers. If you've watched a consultant's deck sit unread, you already know the difference.
How is this different from hiring a Chief AI Officer?
A fractional head of AI carries the same accountability as a Chief AI Officer in a smaller slice of time, without the executive-hire cost. Most companies we work with (50 to 500 people) don't have a full week of AI leadership work. They have a strong few days a month.
What does a fractional Chief AI Officer cost?
A fractional Chief AI Officer typically costs a fraction of a full-time executive. chiefaiofficer.com, to name one provider, publicly lists $54K per engagement cycle and $180K per year. Our retainer is priced on the discovery call and runs month-to-month with a 14-day cancel notice.
When should we hire a full-time head of AI instead?
A full-time head of AI makes sense when the work fills a week, every week, or when AI becomes the product itself. Part of this job is telling you when you've outgrown it, then helping you hire the person.
AI leadership, a few days a month.
The exploratory call covers where your adoption actually stands and what the first quarter of AI leadership would focus on.