A fractional Chief AI Officer is a retained, part-time AI executive for firms building proprietary AI or formalizing AI governance. They set the AI strategy, pick and govern the tools, keep the roadmap moving, and give regulated firms governance leadership a principal can sign. You get senior ownership of the whole AI agenda a few days a month, not a full-time seat.
What you get
Prefer a fixed-scope project? The Governance Install is a one-time engagement from $12,500 that ends in a Trust Binder your principal signs, and that your risk, legal, or compliance teams can evaluate. It stands on its own, or it sets the foundation a retainer runs on.
Both the retainer and the Governance Install are open to professional firms, where the owner or managing partner approves new systems, and to mid-market companies, where an IT, security, or procurement team signs off. They fit firms that need senior AI leadership without a full-time hire, or that must show examiners and boards a defensible AI governance posture.
Want the complete capability list? See the full Fractional CAIO & Governance page. Need the AI system a CAIO governs built instead? That is the Custom AI build path.
CAIO Signature from $4,000/mo (up to two days a month), CAIO Estate from $10,400/mo (52 hours a month, about six and a half days). Three-month minimum. Prefer a fixed-scope project? The Governance Install starts at $12,500 and ends in a signed Trust Binder.
Request a consultation below. We review every request by hand and reach out to book a short fit call that maps scope and the right tier. No engagement is scheduled before that call.
A fractional CAIO is a retained, part-time AI executive. They set the AI strategy, pick and govern the tools, keep the roadmap moving, and give regulated firms governance leadership a principal can sign. You get senior ownership of the whole AI agenda a few days a month, without a full-time hire.
Professional firms and mid-market companies alike. That includes a law firm, medical practice, or wealth office where the owner or managing partner approves new systems, and a larger company where an IT, security, or procurement team signs off. It fits firms that need senior AI leadership without a full-time hire, that must show examiners and boards a defensible AI governance posture, or that are building proprietary AI or formalizing how they use it.
There are two. CAIO Signature starts at $4,000 per month for up to two days a month. CAIO Estate starts at $10,400 per month for 52 hours a month, about six and a half days, and is for firms that want active build management handled inside the retainer. Both run a three-month minimum, then continue month to month. The right tier is set on your fit call, based on scope.
The Governance Install is a one-time, fixed-scope engagement from $12,500. It ends in a Trust Binder your principal signs, and that your risk, legal, or compliance teams can evaluate. The retainer is ongoing senior leadership. The Install can stand alone, or set the foundation a retainer runs on.
It is the single signed deliverable the Governance Install ends in. It is the artifact a principal signs and that risk, legal, or compliance teams can evaluate, so when a client or an examiner asks how your firm governs AI, you have one clear answer to hand them.
Yes, that is a separate path. This page is about leadership and governance. For the systems a CAIO governs, see the Custom AI build path at /custom-ai. Many firms take the governance first, then build on a governed foundation.
We review every request by hand and reach out to book a short fit call. That call maps scope and the right tier. No engagement is scheduled before it.