Fractional Chief AI Officer
A Chief AI Officer
for businesses that cannot afford one full-time.
Senior AI expertise from week one, with the flexibility to scale up or step back whenever you need to.
This retainer is available to AI Core Build clients only.New to HeyBRB? Start with an AI Core Audit to see where your business is losing time.
The honest maths
Why hire a fractional one instead of a full-time one?
A real in-house AI lead in the UK costs £80-150K a year, plus NI, pension, and benefits. Recruitment takes 3-6 months. Ramp-up takes another 3. And you are betting the whole function on one hire.
A Fractional Chief AI Officer costs £30-90K a year depending on the tier you need, works from week one, and can be scaled up or down monthly. No NI, no pension, no notice period dramas, no recruitment risk. You get senior expertise across a team of businesses, not trapped inside one.
This is not pitched on price — the Executive tier costs almost as much as a full-time senior. It is pitched on risk, speed, and flexibility. You do not know today exactly how much AI capacity you will need in 6 months. A fractional retainer lets you find out without committing to a permanent hire.
Retainer Tiers
Three tiers. Move between them any month.
Most clients start on Operator during the first 3 months after a Build, then settle into Advisor once the systems are running smoothly. A few scale up to Executive when they hit a growth inflection.
Advisor
£30,000 per year
1 day / month
Post-Build maintenance and light ongoing support.
- ✓1 scheduled working day per month
- ✓Monthly performance report
- ✓Ad-hoc Slack and email support during UK business hours
- ✓Quarterly roadmap review
Operator
£54,000 per year
2 days / month
Active rollout phase with new automations and ongoing team training.
- ✓2 scheduled working days per month
- ✓Priority Slack and email support
- ✓Monthly performance report with trend analysis
- ✓New automation builds (1 per quarter included)
- ✓Quarterly roadmap review and tool stack audit
Executive
£90,000 per year
4 days / month
Multi-department or complex stack. Growing teams that need senior leadership without the full-time commitment.
- ✓4 scheduled working days per month
- ✓Direct line plus dedicated Slack channel
- ✓Monthly performance report and strategy review
- ✓New automation builds (up to 2 per quarter included)
- ✓Quarterly roadmap review and board-level reporting
All tiers: 3-month initial minimum, then month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel.
A typical month
What the Operator tier looks like, week by week
The most common tier. This is what a month actually looks like in practice, not what it looks like on a slide.
Week 1
Review + Prioritise
We look at the month's performance data from your AI Core, surface any issues or opportunities, and agree the priorities for the month with you.
Week 2
Build Day 1
First scheduled working day. We pick up the highest-priority item — a new automation, a fix for something that drifted, a training need, or a strategic piece you are working on.
Week 3
Team Support
Slack and email support for your team through whatever they are working on. Quick wins, questions, small adjustments — all handled without you thinking about it.
Week 4
Build Day 2 + Report
Second scheduled working day plus the monthly performance report and forward plan. You end the month with clarity on what shifted and what is next.
Who delivers it
Richard, directly — at least through 2026.
Richard Thomas-Pryce delivers every retainer himself during 2026. Ten years of operations experience, seven years building automations for UK small businesses, and a focus on property, accounting, and construction — the three verticals where the Core Build clients come from.
From Q3 2026, the Advisor tier may be supported by a junior consultant working under Richard's oversight, to free up his time for Operator and Executive clients. You will know which tier that applies to at the point of sign-up, and you can veto the arrangement if you want only Richard.
Operator and Executive tiers are delivered directly by Richard indefinitely. No bait and switch to a junior team. If that ever changes, we will tell you before renewal, not after.
Questions
Common questions
Why is this gated to AI Core Build clients only?+
Because it does not work otherwise. A retained AI lead who has not built your systems ends up spending the first 3 months learning what the Build client already knows on day one. We have tried it both ways. Gating keeps the retainer focused on results, not onboarding.
Can we move between tiers?+
Yes, any month. Upgrade or downgrade at 30 days' notice. Most clients start on Operator during the first 3 months after handover then settle into Advisor once the systems are running smoothly.
What is the minimum commitment?+
3 months initial minimum, then month-to-month. The 3-month floor exists because meaningful work cannot be delivered in a single month. After the initial period, cancel any time with 30 days' notice.
What if we want to cancel?+
Give 30 days' notice after the 3-month minimum. We hand over any in-progress work, update the documentation, and leave your team with everything they need to run the systems without us.
What does a typical month look like on the Operator tier?+
Week 1: review the month's performance data, surface issues, prioritise. Week 2: first scheduled working day — build or fix whatever is highest priority. Week 3: team training or Slack support, depending on what the business needs. Week 4: second scheduled working day plus monthly report.
Who actually delivers the work?+
Richard directly for all tiers during 2026. From Q3 2026 onward, Advisor tier may be supported by a junior consultant under Richard's oversight, with Richard retaining direct delivery on Operator and Executive tiers.
Apply
Apply for a Fractional CAIO retainer
Available to current and recent AI Core Build clients. Not a Build client yet? Start with the AI Core Audit.