BUYER GUIDE · UPDATED AUGUST 20, 2026
Fractional Chief AI Officer: Role, Cost and 90-Day Plan
Understand the Fractional Chief AI Officer role, engagement cost drivers, governance responsibilities, and first 90-day plan.
What the role owns
The Fractional CAIO creates a portfolio view across business units, aligns AI decisions with strategy, defines governance and evidence requirements, coordinates technology and risk leaders, and reports material progress and exposure to executives and the board.
What determines cost
Cost increases with the number and consequence of use cases, regulatory exposure, vendor complexity, data readiness, board involvement, implementation responsibility, and the frequency of executive decisions. A diagnostic, 90-day build, and retainer should be priced differently.
The 30-60-90 sequence
Days 1-30 inventory systems, owners, value, and risk. Days 31-60 prioritize the portfolio and install governance. Days 61-90 move selected use cases through governed operation, test escalation, measure adoption, and transfer ownership.
How to judge progress
Progress is not the number of pilots. Review portfolio concentration, time to evidence, workflow adoption, exceptions, cost, model and vendor risk, human-control effectiveness, and the quality of decisions supported.
Operating evidence
The principal case documents how the AGI Brazil operation scaled from approximately $35M to more than $150M through coordinated commercial organization, channels, cadence, and P&L priorities. Additional KPI evidence remains withheld until authorized.
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