Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO)
Senior AI and technology leadership, without the full-time hire.
For founders and growing businesses that need a senior leader to decide where AI fits, put it to work, train the team, and lead the people building it. Building without a technical cofounder? We fill the CTO seat, too.
- Investment
- From $2,000 a month
- Built for
- Founders and growing businesses
- Led by
- Peachity's founder
- Commitment
- 3-month minimum, then monthly
In short
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer?
A fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO) is a senior leader who owns your AI and technology decisions part-time, for a monthly fee, instead of as a full-time executive. At Peachity, your fractional CAIO sets your AI strategy, puts it to work, trains your team, oversees developers and vendors, and represents the technology to investors and customers. For founders without a technical cofounder, the role also covers what a fractional CTO would.
When businesses bring us in
Usually when AI decisions start to pile up.
Where AI belongs
You know AI should save time somewhere, but not where to start or what it will cost.
Everyone trying tools
Your team is experimenting with AI on their own, with no plan, no guardrails, and no shared approach.
A stalled pilot
An AI pilot looked promising, but a month later nobody is using it.
Choosing who builds
You're deciding between an agency, freelancers, or AI tools to build what you need.
An uncertain prototype
You have a prototype and can't tell whether it was built well.
Hard questions
Investors or customers are asking how you use AI and how you protect their data.
Developers without direction
Your developers or vendors need priorities, review, and someone to hold the bar.
No technical cofounder
You're building a company and need a senior leader to own the technology.
What your fractional CAIO leads
The AI and technology decisions, with a senior lead behind them.
Leadership scoped to your tier and your team. Your engagement agreement defines what Peachity leads and what your team owns.
How it works
A clear start, then steady leadership.
A first conversation
We talk through the business, how it runs today, and what's been built so far. It's free.
The first 30 days
We find where AI pays off, put the first workflows in place, and set a plan you can explain to anyone. Most clients start with the 30-Day AI Rollout.
Every month after
Leadership, hands-on work, and team training at your tier, led by Peachity's founder.
Start here · 30-Day AI Rollout
Thirty days. Three working AI workflows. A team that uses them.
Replace hours of repetitive work with three AI-powered workflows built around your business. Thirty days from now, you'll have working AI systems and a team that knows how to use them.
$5,000
Fixed price, up to 10 team members. Workflows are built with your existing tools and proven AI services. Custom agents or new software integrations are quoted separately. $1,000 of the fee is credited toward a new 3-month Fractional CAIO engagement started within 30 days.
Start your AI RolloutWeek 1
Find
We map how the work gets done today, measure the time it takes today, and choose the three workflows where AI pays off first.
Week 2
Build
We set up the tools, assistants, and automations, connected to the systems you already use, with privacy and quality checks built in.
Week 3
Train
Live training built around your team's real tasks, a written playbook for each workflow, and a named owner who keeps it running.
Week 4
Prove
We measure the time saved against week one, fix what isn't sticking, and hand you a 90-day plan for what comes next.
What you have on day 30
- Three AI workflows, live and connected to the tools you already use
- Your team trained and using the new workflows
- A playbook and a named owner for each workflow
- An AI use policy: privacy, data, and quality checks
- A before-and-after report of time saved
- A 90-day plan for what comes next
Your options
How a fractional CAIO compares.
| Full-time executive | Agency or consultant | Peachity Fractional CAIO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Executive salary and equity | Project fees | From $2,000 a month |
| Owns AI and technology decisions | Yes | Rarely; works to your brief | Yes |
| Hands-on setup and team training | Sometimes | Within the project | Yes, from the Hands-on tier |
| Accountable to | You | The project scope | You |
| Investor and customer diligence | Yes | Rarely | Yes, from the Leadership tier |
| Right when | You have the budget for a full-time executive | The plan is clear and you need it built | You need senior judgment before a full-time hire |
Pricing
Fractional CAIO
From $2,000 a month.
Every tier has a 3-month minimum, then continues month to month. Billed monthly in advance. Larger engineering work is quoted separately as fixed-price Production Engineering.
- AdvisoryFor businesses that have people doing the technical work but need experienced leadership behind the decisions, including AI.Senior guidance on what to build, where AI fits, and how to avoid expensive mistakes. We'll help prioritize initiatives, evaluate vendors and proposals, challenge technical recommendations, and make sure your technology decisions support your business goals.Includes: An AI opportunity review and an AI use policy in your first month, then two strategy sessions a month, a quarterly priorities plan, a team training session each quarter, and guidance between sessions. We recommend which AI tools, agents, and automations to adopt; your team implements them.
- $2,000 a month
- Hands-onFor businesses without a technical team, who need someone to set up AI and handle the technical work.A senior technical partner who turns priorities into working solutions. From setting up AI agents and automations to connecting business systems and improving existing technology, we'll identify what needs attention and take care of it.Includes: Everything in Advisory, plus up to 10 hours a month putting the plan into action: setting up AI agents and automations, connecting your systems, and training your team until they use them every week. Larger builds are quoted separately.
- $3,500 a month
- LeadershipFor businesses working with developers or vendors, who need senior direction over what gets built.Senior leadership for the people building your technology. We set direction, oversee developers and vendors, help you hire, and stand behind your AI and technology when investors and customers ask hard questions.Includes: Everything in Advisory, plus developer and vendor oversight, hiring support, team training and adoption tracking, AI and technical due diligence with investors, and AI and security reviews with customers. Hands-on work when it's the fastest way to move things forward.
- By proposal
- EmbeddedFor businesses with an in-house engineering team, who want a senior leader in the room every week.Leadership that's part of your team, not an occasional meeting. We set development priorities, keep developers and specialists moving in one direction, and make sure what ships matches what the business needs.Includes: Everything in Leadership, plus a weekly presence with your team and ongoing oversight of development priorities and delivery.
- By proposal
What each tier covers
| Included | Advisory | Hands-on | Leadership | Embedded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Review & plan | ||||
| AI opportunity reviewEvery tier | ||||
| Quarterly priorities planEvery tier | ||||
| Strategy sessions and guidanceEvery tier | ||||
| AI use policy and guardrailsEvery tier | ||||
| Put it to work | ||||
| Hands-on setup: AI, automations, and integrationsHands-on 10 hrs · Leadership As needed · Embedded As needed | 10 hrs | As needed | As needed | |
| Hands-on team trainingAdvisory Quarterly · Hands-on Monthly · Leadership Monthly · Embedded Monthly | Quarterly | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly |
| Leading your team's AI projectsLeadership and up | ||||
| Lead the team | ||||
| Developer and vendor oversightLeadership and up | ||||
| Hiring supportLeadership and up | ||||
| AI due diligence with investors and customersLeadership and up | ||||
| Weekly presence with your teamEmbedded only | ||||
Leadership and Embedded are scoped to your team and priced in a written proposal. Every tier: one named senior lead, a 3-month minimum, then month to month.
A note from our founder
The senior leader you've been missing.
Questions
Fractional CAIO questions.
How do I get started?
Most companies start with the 30-Day AI Rollout, $5,000: three working AI workflows connected to your systems, your team trained on the new workflows, an AI use policy, and a measured report of time saved. Workflows are built with your existing tools and proven AI services. Custom agents or new software integrations are quoted separately. $1,000 of the fee is credited toward a new 3-month Fractional CAIO engagement started within 30 days.
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO)?
A senior leader who owns your AI and technology decisions part-time, for a monthly fee. A fractional CAIO decides where AI belongs in the business, puts it to work, trains the team, oversees developers and vendors, and represents the technology to investors and customers, without the cost of a full-time executive.
What's the difference between a fractional CAIO and a fractional CTO?
A CTO owns the technology. A CAIO owns how AI is used across the business, and for most companies today those decisions are the same ones. If you're a founder without a technical cofounder, Peachity's fractional CAIO covers everything a fractional CTO would.
How much does a fractional CAIO cost?
Peachity's Fractional CAIO has four tiers: Advisory at $2,000 a month, Hands-on at $3,500 a month with up to 10 hours of hands-on work, and Leadership and Embedded, which are priced in a written proposal based on your team and scope. Every tier has a 3-month minimum, then continues month to month, billed monthly in advance. Larger engineering work is quoted separately as fixed-price Production Engineering.
When does a business need a fractional CAIO instead of a full-time executive?
When you need senior AI and technology judgment before you can justify, or find, a full-time executive. That is usually when AI decisions start piling up, when a pilot stalls, before a funding round, or when you're about to hire or direct a technical team.
Do you train our team?
Yes. Training is part of every tier: a session each quarter in Advisory, and monthly training in the higher tiers, built around your team's real tasks so the tools get used after we step back.
Can you work with my existing agency or developers?
Yes. Many clients bring Peachity in to direct an agency or freelance team: setting priorities, reviewing the work, and making sure what gets built is what the business needs.
Will you write code?
When it's the right use of the time, yes. Hands-on work fits within the monthly hours. Larger builds are scoped as fixed-price Production Engineering so the leadership time stays focused on decisions.
Can you help me hire?
Yes, from the Leadership tier. We define the roles, write the job descriptions, run technical interviews, and help new hires get productive quickly.
Put a senior AI leader in your corner.
Tell us about the business and where it's headed. The first conversation is free.