Start Here · Fractional AI Lead

A fractional AI lead: senior AI expertise without a full-time hire

You don't need a full-time Chief AI Officer to have one. A fractional AI lead sets your AI strategy, chooses the tools, manages the projects and suppliers, reports to the leadership team and trains your people, for a set number of days each month.

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Example

Strategy and priorities agreed with leadership

Tools, suppliers and budgets managed

Projects delivered and measured

Monthly board-level AI report

AI + Experts + Your Data

Any one of these on its own falls short. Together they give you the speed of AI with answers you can trust.

Does the heavy lifting

Handles the analysis, research and reporting.

EXPERT

Checks it's right

A senior AI lead makes the calls and owns the outcomes.

YOUR DATA

Keeps it grounded

Your goals, numbers and team feedback, reviewed monthly.

HOW IT WORKS

How it works, step by step

Here is a typical job, from the moment it arrives to the moment it is done. Watch it move through.

01Strategy and priorities agreed with leadership
02Tools, suppliers and budgets managed
03Projects delivered and measured
04Monthly board-level AI report

Where it pays off

Real examples of where Fractional AI Lead pays off. Filter by the part of the business you care about.

ADMIN

AI strategy and roadmap

A 12-month plan tied to business goals, reviewed every quarter.

All sectors

OPERATIONS

Vendor and tool decisions

Independent advice on which tools to buy, and which to avoid.

All sectors

OPERATIONS

Project oversight

Pilots scoped, delivered and measured against agreed baselines.

All sectors

ADMIN

Policy and governance

AI use policy, risk register and UK GDPR checks kept current.

Professional servicesHealthcare

ADMIN

Leadership reporting

A clear monthly update on progress, spend and value.

All sectors

ADMIN

Team coaching

Regular sessions so your people keep improving.

All sectors

Start small. Prove it works. Then scale.

No big transformation projects. We find the one thing worth doing first, prove it with a pilot, then keep building month by month.

01 · 3 MINUTES

AI Readiness Check

Seven questions and a straight answer on whether AI fits your business yet.

02 · 1 DAY

1 Day Business Analysis

A day with your team to find the quickest wins. Free for a great fit.

03 · 2 TO 4 WEEKS

Pilot Build

One workflow built, tested and handed over, so you see it working first.

04 · MONTHLY

Monthly Support

Monitoring, training and the next build. Leave at the end of any month.

IN DEPTH

The detail, in 6 short parts

01 / 06

What Is a Fractional Chief AI Officer?

A fractional Chief AI Officer is a senior AI lead who works with your business part time, for a set number of days each month. They do the job a full time Chief AI Officer (CAIO) would do, setting AI strategy, owning AI governance and making sure AI projects deliver value, without the cost or long term commitment of a permanent executive role.

We call the role a fractional AI lead, because for most SMEs that's what it is: one accountable person who owns AI across the business. It's the same idea as a fractional finance director or a fractional CMO, applied to artificial intelligence.

Many organisations already use AI tools, but nobody owns the bigger picture. One team buys one tool, another team buys something else, and leaders can't see what it costs or what it's worth. A fractional chief AI officer gives you clear ownership and a plan, in plain terms.

02 / 06

What a Fractional AI Lead Does

The scope is agreed with your leadership team up front, then reviewed every quarter. A typical month looks like this.

AI strategy: a 12-month roadmap tied to business goals, with priorities agreed by leaders.
AI governance: an AI use policy, risk register, approved tools list and UK GDPR checks kept current.
Tool and vendor decisions: independent advice on which AI technologies to buy, and which to avoid.
AI projects: pilots scoped, delivered and measured against agreed baselines.
Cost control: AI subscriptions and API spend reviewed so costs don't creep up.
Reporting: a clear monthly update for the board on progress, spend, risk and value.
AI adoption: coaching and training so every team member can use AI well.

Strategic oversight, not just advice

The difference between a fractional AI officer and an AI consultant is accountability. A consultant advises on a project and leaves. A fractional chief AI officer sits with your leadership team, owns the strategic direction and stays responsible for the results month after month.

03 / 06

Fractional AI Leadership vs a Full Time Hire

A full time hire makes sense for large enterprises with big AI teams and complex AI systems. For a business of 10 to 250 people, it's usually too much, too soon. Senior AI leadership is hard to recruit, and a full time executive role is a major cost before you've proved what AI can do for you.

Fractional AI leadership gives you the same senior AI expertise for the days you need. You can start at one day a month, add days as your AI initiatives grow, and later decide whether a full time CAIO makes sense. If it does, your fractional lead can help you write the role and hire the right person.

Outsourced head of AI or AI consultant retainer?

Some businesses search for an outsourced head of AI, others for an AI consultant retainer. Both describe much the same thing: ongoing senior support on a monthly basis. What matters is clear scope, a named person and monthly reporting, so you always know what you're paying for.

04 / 06

Who Needs a Fractional Chief AI Officer?

You'll get the most value from fractional AI leadership if a few of these sound familiar.

Your team uses AI tools, but nobody owns AI across the company.
Leaders want an AI strategy but don't have the time or technical depth to write one.
You've run AI pilots that never went further.
You're worried about risk management, data protection or regulatory expectations.
You sell into the EU and want to understand what the EU AI Act may mean for you.
You want to grow AI capability without a full time hire.

05 / 06

Governance, Risk and Regulation

AI governance is now part of running a business responsibly. In the UK that means UK GDPR, sector rules and clear accountability for how AI is used. If you trade with the EU, the EU AI Act sets out regulatory requirements for some uses of AI, and your fractional AI lead will help you understand where it applies.

Good governance frameworks for SMEs are short and practical: who can use which tools, what data can go into them, who checks the output, and how problems are raised. We keep these documents live and review them as your AI integration grows.

06 / 06

How It Works and What It Costs

Fractional AI Lead plans start from £1,250 a month for one day a month, on a monthly rolling basis. You can add days as your work grows, or step back when things are running smoothly.

We start by meeting your leaders, reviewing what AI you use today and agreeing the first quarter's priorities. From then on you get the same person each month, a clear plan and a monthly report. AI + Experts + Your Data together beat any one on its own: AI handles the research and analysis, your fractional lead makes the calls, and your own numbers show what's working.

FAQ

Common questions

How many days do we get?

Plans start at one day a month, from £1,250 a month, and can increase as your AI work grows.

Is there a long contract?

No. It's monthly rolling, and you can change the number of days as you go.

How is this different from monthly support?

Monthly support looks after what we've built. A fractional AI lead owns your whole AI programme at leadership level.

What does fractional AI mean?

It means senior AI leadership on a part-time basis. You get a named AI lead for a set number of days each month instead of a full time executive.

What is AI outsourcing?

Handing some or all of your AI work to an outside team. A fractional AI lead is a form of AI outsourcing at leadership level: strategy, governance and oversight rather than just building.

What is a consultancy retainer?

A monthly fee for ongoing access to a consultant. Our fractional AI lead works like a retainer, with agreed days, a clear scope and monthly reporting.

How much do AI consultants typically charge?

It varies widely by experience and scope. Our Fractional AI Lead starts from £1,250 a month for one day a month, monthly rolling.