How much does a Fractional Chief AI Officer cost in Australia?

Pricing is on application. The monthly retainer is scoped to the tier you pick (Foundations, Hands on or Embedded) and the size of your team. We agree the scope and the monthly figure in writing before commencement. The retainer rolls monthly with no annual lock in.

Is this designed for small businesses or for enterprises?

The service is designed for Australian businesses with five to fifty staff. Tiers, deliverables and language are built around the needs of a small business. That means a written AI policy, a tool shortlist, staff guidance and someone to call, rather than board reports and governance forums.

How is this different from AI consulting?

AI consulting is project based with a defined deliverable and an end date. A Fractional CAIO is ongoing. It is a monthly retainer in which your AI policy stays owned, your tool list stays current and your staff have somewhere to go with questions. Both can run together if you also have a specific build you want done.

We only have ten staff. Are we too small?

No. The Foundations tier is built for businesses under fifteen staff. It gives a small team a clear policy, an approved tool shortlist and a named person for questions without requiring a full time executive hire.

What does on call support mean?

It means staff and the nominated owner can raise questions through the agreed channel during business hours. Response timing, contacts and any urgent support arrangements are written into the retainer scope. It is not an emergency response service unless that is separately agreed.

Will the Fractional CAIO appear on our org chart?

It is optional. In the Embedded tier, some clients name us externally as 'Chief AI Officer (external)' for procurement, insurer or regulator questions. In Foundations and Hands on, the relationship is usually internal facing only.

What if we already work with an MSP or IT provider?

We work alongside them. Your MSP looks after devices, network and Microsoft 365. We look after AI strategy, policy and tooling. The scopes are separate and can complement each other.

Does this appoint VibeZero as a company director?

No. It is a contracted advisory role and does not appoint VibeZero as a company director or transfer board and management accountability. Any legal, fiduciary or sector specific obligations remain with the organisation and its qualified advisers.

Fractional Chief AI Officer

Your AI lead on a small business retainer

A Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO), sometimes called a fractional head of AI, is an external AI lead who owns AI policy, tools, training and vendor decisions for your business on a monthly retainer. VibeZero provides this for Australian businesses with five to fifty staff, from Perth and remotely across Australia, as an advisor and not a company director.

Free 30 min consult Read the AI Transformation Framework

Describe the problem in a sentence or two. Please do not send credentials or sensitive records.

Best fit: Businesses with five to fifty staff and no internal AI owner
Main deliverable: Ongoing ownership of policy, tools, training and decisions
Client effort: One accountable owner and access to relevant vendors and staff
Commercial model: Rolling monthly retainer agreed in writing

Delivery ownership

Scope
Review
Findings
Walkthrough

The accountable team stays involved from scoping through the final walkthrough. Specialist capability is added where the evidence needs it, with responsibilities agreed before work starts.

The gap

Small businesses need clear AI ownership

Staff are using AI, nobody owns the policy and the owner is busy running the business. Some use may involve customer data without a consistent policy. Tool subscriptions multiply while insurers, accountants and larger clients start asking how AI is governed.

Read the context

Most Australian small businesses do not need a full time AI executive. They need a written policy staff can use, a vendor neutral tool shortlist, practical training and someone accountable for the questions that keep appearing.

With a Fractional CAIO, someone owns it week to week. That means a practical policy, a controlled tool set, training, vendor decisions and a reliable point of escalation, not a one off assessment or a software build.

Scope

What the retainer includes

AI usage policy

A plain English policy covering approved tools, prohibited data and escalation, reviewed each quarter.

Tool shortlist

A concise vendor neutral list of appropriate tools, plans to avoid and setup guidance.

Staff training and rollout

Practical workshops, a written cheat sheet and a place for staff to ask questions.

Privacy and data basics

Plain language guidance on Australian privacy expectations and sensitive data, explicitly not legal advice.

Vendor and subscription help

Review overlapping subscriptions, usage and vendor decisions, including support cancelling dead tools.

On call AI question line

Someone to call on weekdays for unusual tool behaviour, staff questions and external requests.

Delivery feedback

A client view of the work

This feedback is about how we scope, build and hand over technical work. It is not a case study for this service.

No jargon, no upselling, just solid work delivered on time. They understood our business from the first call and built exactly what we asked for.

Blake GoodDirector, Good DesignsRead the full client feedback

Retainer status

Three rolling monthly retainer options

Pricing is on application. Every tier is rolling monthly with no annual lock in, and scope is agreed before commencement. See how retainers differ from projects on the Pricing page.

Foundations | light touch

Foundations

For businesses under roughly fifteen staff that need policy, a tool shortlist and dependable answers.

Written AI usage policy
Tool shortlist and setup notes
Quarterly owner catch up
Async question line

Hands on | active

Hands on

For businesses typically between fifteen and forty staff that are expanding AI across workflows.

Everything in Foundations
Fortnightly working session
Staff training sessions
Vendor and subscription management

Embedded | lead role

Embedded

For businesses typically around thirty to fifty plus staff where AI is becoming central to operations.

Everything in Hands on
Weekly engagement
Direct rollout involvement
Optional named external role

Pricing is on application. The tier, monthly scope and fee are agreed in writing before commencement.

Free 30 min consult See pricing and engagement models

Method

How the engagement runs

If the business outgrows the retainer, policy, tool records, vendor contacts and playbooks are handed over cleanly.

Scope
30 minute scoping call
We agree the tier, the day to day contact and the first ninety day priorities.
Onboard
First two weeks
A quick review maps current tools, logins, data movement and gaps into a one page picture.
Policy
Month one
We draft the usage policy, tool shortlist and staff cheat sheet with the owner.
Operate
Steady state
Written monthly updates, scheduled catch ups, vendor decisions and on call answers continue at the agreed cadence.
Transition
Knowledge transfer
The complete operating record transfers to the business if it moves to an internal role.

Useful starting point

See the policy structure before deciding on a retainer

The public policy template shows the level of practical detail staff need. A retainer adapts and maintains that operating position for the business.

Boundaries

What this role is not

Capacity boundary

A full time CAIO replacement

A business needing full time dedicated leadership should hire internally; the retainer can support that transition.

Separate delivery

An AI development team

The CAIO oversees priorities and delivery; application engineering remains a separate scope.

Independent

A reseller arrangement

VibeZero earns no platform margin and makes vendor neutral recommendations.

Not legal advice

A legal review service

Legal opinions and contracts remain with counsel or a compliance adviser.

Role clarity

A general CTO substitute

The CAIO owns the AI agenda, not the entire technology function.

Triggers

When to call us in

No policy

Staff using ChatGPT on phones

AI is already in use through personal accounts without approved tools or data rules.

Insurer asking

Cyber insurance renewal

An insurer, bank or larger client expects a written AI governance answer.

Owner overloaded

No time to research it

The owner cannot spend a day each week comparing tools and maintaining policy.

Subscription bloat

Paying for several AI tools

Overlapping subscriptions are renewing without clear ownership or value.

Regulator awareness

Privacy Act and sector rules

The business needs an operational response to regulator and sector expectations.

Procurement

A bigger client is asking

A tender or questionnaire requires credible answers about AI governance.

Practical details

Questions about Fractional Chief AI Officer

What is assessed, what you receive and where advisory responsibility stops.

A Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO) is an external AI lead who looks after your AI strategy, policy and tooling on a monthly retainer. The model is the same idea as a Fractional CFO or a Fractional CMO. You get the senior thinking and ongoing ownership without paying for a full time hire.

Start here

Give the AI agenda clear ownership

Free 30 min consult

Pricing is on application. The monthly scope and fee are agreed in writing before commencement.Enquiries get a reply within one business day.