AI usage policy
A plain-English written policy your team will actually read. What they can use, what they cannot paste in, what to do if they are not sure. Reviewed and updated each quarter.
Service · Fractional CAIO · Monthly retainer
Your AI lead. On a small-business retainer.
Your team is already using ChatGPT, Copilot or Claude. Probably on personal logins. Probably with customer data. Most Australian small businesses do not need a full-time AI executive. They need a written policy their team will actually read, a shortlist of tools that will not leak data, training that sticks, and someone to call when something weird happens. That is what a Fractional Chief AI Officer for small business does, on a monthly retainer scoped to your size.
5-50staff
small business sweet spot
1
written AI usage policy your team reads
POA
monthly retainer scoped to your size
Monthly
rolling, no annual lock-in
01The gap
You don't need a Chief AI Officer. You need a grown-up answer.
Half your team is using ChatGPT. Nobody wrote a policy. And the owner is too busy running the business.
That is the typical small business AI situation in Australia. Staff have signed up for free tier tools on their phones. Sensitive client data is getting pasted in. The accountant asked about it last week. The insurer is starting to ask about it too. The owner does not have time to research models, write a usage policy and train the team. A Fractional Chief AI Officer is the cheapest way to get a real person owning the answer to all of that, on a small-business retainer.
Why small businesses hit this wallcommon
- !No-one has time to write the policy. Everyone agrees you need one. Nobody on the team has the hours to do it properly.
- !Staff use AI on personal logins. ChatGPT on their phone, customer info in the prompt, no audit trail and no way to roll it back.
- !Tool subscriptions multiply. Three overlapping AI tools, two of them barely used, all auto-renewing on the company card.
- !Insurer and accountant are asking. Cyber insurers and bookkeepers are starting to ask about AI policies the same way they ask about backups.
02Scope
What you actually get on the retainer.
Tool shortlist
A short list of the AI tools that fit your business and a clear list of the ones to avoid. Free tier vs paid tier guidance. No vendor margins, no reseller deals on our side.
Staff training and rollout
Workshop sessions for the team on how to use the sanctioned tools well. Plus a written cheat sheet. Plus a place for staff to ask questions when they get stuck.
Privacy and data basics
What the Australian Privacy Act means for a small business using AI. What not to paste into ChatGPT. How to handle a client record properly. Written guidance, not legal advice.
Vendor and subscription help
Review of your current AI subscriptions, what you are paying for, what is unused, what is overlapping. Help cancelling the dead ones and negotiating the live ones.
On-call AI question line
When a staff member finds a weird AI behaviour, when a customer asks an awkward question, when a new tool appears in the headlines, you have someone to call. Same-day on weekdays.
03Tiers
Three engagement tiers. All retainer.
FoundationsLight-touch
The starter tier for small businesses (under ~15 staff) that mainly need the policy, the tool shortlist and a clear answer when AI questions come up. Quarterly catch-up with the owner, monthly written update, async availability.
- ✓Written AI usage policy
- ✓Tool shortlist + setup notes
- ✓Quarterly owner catch-up
- ✓Async question line
Hands-onActive
For small businesses (typically 15-40 staff) actively rolling AI into more workflows. Fortnightly working session with the owner or operations lead, regular staff training, ongoing tool decisions.
- ✓Everything in Foundations
- ✓Fortnightly working session
- ✓Staff training sessions
- ✓Vendor and subscription management
EmbeddedLead role
For small businesses (typically 30-50+ staff) where AI is becoming central to how the team works. Weekly engagement, direct involvement in rollouts, deeper hands-on help, optional named role for customer or regulator reporting.
- ✓Everything in Hands-on
- ✓Weekly engagement
- ✓Direct rollout involvement
- ✓Named external role (optional)
▸ pricing on application. Rolling monthly retainer, no annual lock-in, scope agreed before commencement.
04Method
How the engagement runs.
01 · scope
30-min scoping call
We agree the tier, who the day-to-day contact is and the first-90-day priorities. No pitch deck, no slides.
02 · onboard
First two weeks
Quick look at how AI is actually being used today across the team. Which tools, which logins, which data, which gaps. Output is a one-page picture.
03 · policy
Month one
Draft the AI usage policy, the tool shortlist and the staff cheat sheet. Sit with the owner and walk through it. Make changes. Sign off.
04 · operate
Steady state
Monthly written update, scheduled catch-ups at the agreed cadence, ongoing vendor and tool decisions, on-call answers when something weird shows up.
05 · transition
Knowledge transfer
If you ever outgrow the retainer, we hand over the policy, the tool list, the vendor contacts and the playbooks. Nothing locked up on our side.
We work with Australian small businesses, typically 5 to 50 staff. Most clients stay on the retainer for 12 months or more because the model continues to fit the size of the business. If you outgrow it, we hand over cleanly.
05Boundaries
What this role is not.
Not in scope
A full-time CAIO replacement
If you genuinely need 40+ hours a week of dedicated AI leadership, you need a full-time hire. We help you transition into one.
Not in scope
An AI development team
We oversee delivery. We do not write the code. Builds go through our AI App Development service or your existing development partner.
Not in scope
A reseller arrangement
We do not earn margin on Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude or any platform. Vendor recommendations are vendor-neutral.
Not in scope
A legal review service
We work alongside your lawyer or compliance advisor. Legal opinions and contracts are theirs. AI strategy is ours.
Not in scope
A general CTO substitute
Different role. CAIO owns AI; a CTO owns the broader technology function. We do not pretend to be the latter.
06Triggers
When to call us in.
No policy yet
Staff using ChatGPT on phones
Half the team is already using AI tools on personal logins. No usage policy, no list of approved tools, no way to know what data is going where.
Insurer asking
Cyber insurance renewal
Your cyber insurance renewal form has a question about AI usage. So does your business banker. So does your bigger client.
Owner overloaded
No time to research it
The owner knows AI matters but does not have a spare day each week to read research, compare tools and write the policy.
Subscription bloat
Paying for three AI tools
The card has three or four AI subscriptions on it. Two of them are barely used. Nobody can remember who signed up for what.
Regulator awareness
Privacy Act and sector rules
AHPRA, OAIC, ACNC and similar regulators are starting to ask how small businesses in their sector manage AI. You need a real answer.
Bigger client asking
Procurement questionnaire
A bigger client or government tender sent through a procurement form with AI governance questions. Saying you do not have any answers loses you the deal.
07Related
Related services.
Audit
AI Readiness Audit
One-off assessment that usually precedes a Fractional CAIO engagement. Maps where AI fits and what has to be in place first.
→ImplementationAI Implementation & Transformation
Project-based AI strategy and rollout. The CAIO owns the programme; this is where the delivery happens.
→ResourceAI Transformation Framework
Our public seven-phase framework for end-to-end AI adoption in Australian SMBs.
→08FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
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.
Small businesses. The sweet spot is Australian businesses with five to fifty staff. Tiers, deliverables and language are all built around what a small business actually needs: a written AI policy, a tool shortlist, staff guidance and someone to call. Not board reports and governance forums.
AI consulting is project-based with a defined deliverable and an end date. A Fractional CAIO is ongoing: monthly retainer, your AI policy stays owned, your tool list stays current, your staff have somewhere to go with questions. Both can run together if you also have a specific build you want done.
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. Rolling monthly, no annual lock-in.
No. The Foundations tier is built for businesses under fifteen staff. The policy, the tool shortlist and the on-call answers are arguably more valuable at this size because one wrong free-tier AI account can cost more relative to the business.
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.
We work alongside them. Your MSP looks after devices, network and Microsoft 365. We look after AI strategy, policy and tooling. There is almost no overlap and the two roles complement each other.
No. Fractional roles are not regulated in Australia. We are not legally a director and do not take on directors' duties or fiduciary obligations. We are a contracted advisor with ongoing presence inside your business.
Need an AI policy, a tool shortlist and someone to call? Start with a 30 minute scoping call.
Book a 30 min Scoping Call →
▸ we will tell you whether this engagement is the right fit. No pitch deck.