Hiring a full-time Chief AI Officer is a large commitment before you know what the role needs to be. A fractional leader can set direction, prove value and design the role first. Here is what a well-run first 90 days looks like.
Days 1 to 30: Assess and decide
- Interview the executive team on priorities, pressures and the decisions AI should improve.
- Inventory current AI use, data quality and process documentation.
- Rank opportunities by return, effort and risk.
- Agree a 90-day plan with the CEO: three to five priorities, each with an owner and a measure.
Days 31 to 60: Govern and launch
- Put the AI use policy and decision rights in place.
- Launch two or three pilots with business owners, baselines and kill dates.
- Stop or merge duplicate experiments.
- Start a weekly AI and operations review with a one-page scorecard.
Days 61 to 90: Prove and plan
- Report results against baseline: built versus running.
- Scale what works into the operating rhythm, with training and runbooks.
- Recommend the next two quarters of investment.
- Define whether the business needs a full-time AI leader, and if so, the role profile.
Why combine AI and operations leadership
AI changes how work gets done, so the person leading it needs authority over how work gets done. That is why our model pairs fractional Chief AI Officer responsibilities with fractional COO responsibilities: one accountable leader for the operating rhythm and the AI program that is meant to change it.
Signs you are ready for fractional AI leadership
- Your board or investors are asking for an AI plan.
- Teams are running AI experiments with no shared priorities.
- You have budget for AI tools but no one accountable for results.
- You want the function designed before you hire into it.
Learn more about our Fractional COO and Chief AI Officer engagements.