After the audit. The engineer stays in the room.
Most AI projects do not fail at the audit. They fail in the six months after, when the people who understood the original recommendation are no longer involved and the build drifts. The Fractional AI Operator retainer is the answer: consultant-led continuity, on a monthly fee, for businesses that want the same engineer reviewing the build as wrote the audit.
For boards and founders who have completed an AI Readiness Audit (or equivalent) and want the recommendation memo to actually land in production.
Fractional AI Operator
Consultant-led continuity. Eight consultant hours per month. Direct line on Slack / email between sessions. 30-day notice to cancel after the initial three months.
- Eight consultant hours per month (rollover up to 16 in a single quarter)
- Monthly written summary, what shipped, what is at risk, what to decide next
- Direct Slack / email between sessions for time-sensitive decisions
- Code review on critical AI components on request
- Specialist partner access (tax, capital strategy) at a discounted introduction rate
Continuity, not consulting fluff.
The retainer is shaped around what teams actually need in the six months after an audit lands.
- Monthly leadership session. A 60-minute working call with the leadership sponsor. What shipped, what slipped, what to decide next.
- Written monthly summary. A one-page record of decisions, risks and the next-30-day workplan. Distributable to your board.
- Decision-grade Slack / email access. Direct line for time-sensitive AI / data / regulatory decisions between sessions. Reply within one business day.
- Code review on critical components. RAG retrieval logic, agent orchestration, evaluation harness, anything where a misstep is expensive. On request, within retainer hours.
- Specialist partner access. Discounted introduction rates to the tax and capital-strategy partners when the AI build hits a tax or financial structuring question.
- Quarterly forward look. Once a quarter, a longer session pointed at what changes in the next 90 days, new model releases, regulation shifts, internal milestones.
How the retainer runs
Onboarding
Either the AI Readiness Audit memo carries forward, or we run a one-week onboarding to bring the consultant up to speed on the existing build.
Initial term
Three-month minimum to give the cadence time to land. Monthly session, written summary, Slack between sessions.
Month-to-month
After the initial three months, the retainer rolls month-to-month. Either side can give 30-day notice. No exit fees.
Larger work
If the work needs to expand into a full engagement, retainer hours convert one-for-one against the engagement scope, you are not double-charged.
The questions buyers ask before signing
Do we need to have completed the AI Readiness Audit first?
No, but it is the cleanest on-ramp. If you have not, we run a one-week onboarding (charged at the regular hourly rate) to bring the consultant up to speed before the retainer cadence starts. Most clients find the audit-first path less disruptive.
What does “eight consultant hours” actually mean in practice?
One 60-minute leadership session, the written summary that follows it, decision-grade Slack / email between sessions, and code review on request. Most months it works out as roughly two productive days of consultant time spread across the month. Hours roll over up to a 16-hour quarterly cap so a quiet month can fund a bigger review the next.
What if we need more than eight hours in a given month?
You can either tap the rollover bank (up to 16 hours in a single quarter), upgrade the retainer tier, or commission a discrete engagement, in which case retainer hours convert one-for-one against the scope. We do not surprise-bill above the retainer ceiling without a written agreement.
What about confidentiality?
The audit-stage NDA carries forward. If the retainer starts without a prior audit, a one-page mutual NDA is signed before any data exchange. We do not retain commercial-in-confidence material beyond the engagement.
Can we cancel?
After the initial three-month term, either side can give 30-day written notice. No exit fees. The next-month invoice is the last one. Any unspent rollover hours expire at the end of the notice period.
How does this differ from hiring a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO owns the engineering function. The Fractional AI Operator owns one specific surface, the AI / automation / data-strategy decisions on top of an existing engineering team. It is a complement, not a replacement.
Already had an audit elsewhere? Let’s talk continuity.
The first call is a scoping conversation, not a sales pitch. Bring the audit memo (or the equivalent), and we will tell you on the call whether the retainer is the right shape for what is next.