Services — Fractional AI Officer
AI leadership without
the full-time hire.
A named point of contact who owns your AI programme — strategy, implementation oversight, governance, and partner reporting. The function a mid-market firm needs, at the scope a mid-market firm can justify.
What it is
The function, not the headcount.
Most mid-market professional services firms need someone who owns their AI programme. They do not need that person five days a week. The Fractional AI Officer is a named Arqale principal who takes on that ownership — strategy, implementation oversight, governance, and partner reporting — typically at 2–4 days per month on a fixed monthly fee.
The alternative is to leave AI programme ownership with a vendor — which creates a structural conflict of interest — or with a partner who is already at capacity — which means it does not get done. Neither is a satisfactory position for a firm that takes its AI obligations seriously.
This is not a retainer for ad hoc consultancy. It is an ongoing ownership relationship, renewed quarterly, with defined responsibilities and measurable deliverables. If the programme is not performing, you will hear about it from us first.
Engagement structure
Commitment
2–4 days per month, agreed at outset
Pricing
Fixed monthly fee — no hourly billing, no scope creep
Contract term
Quarterly renewal — no long-term lock-in
Reporting
Monthly written report to partnership
Entry point
AI Readiness Audit recommended first
Sectors
Law, accounting, real estate, HR & recruiting
What you get
Defined responsibilities.
Not open-ended advice.
The scope is agreed before engagement begins. Every item below is a standing responsibility, not an optional add-on. The monthly fee covers all of it.
Strategy and roadmap ownership
A named individual who owns your AI programme — not a vendor managing their own contract. Responsible for identifying opportunities, prioritising build order, and aligning the programme to firm-wide objectives.
Implementation oversight
Technical and operational oversight of every build. Not passive project management — active involvement at design, integration, and handover stages. The person who catches problems before they reach go-live.
Governance and compliance maintenance
Ongoing stewardship of your AI usage policy, data handling framework, and staff guidance. Updated as regulatory guidance evolves. Your PI insurer and regulator always have a current document to review.
Partner reporting
Monthly reporting to partnership on AI programme performance — adoption metrics, value delivered, risks identified, and forward roadmap. Framed for a non-technical audience and designed to support governance decisions.
Vendor management
Ongoing independent evaluation of vendors and tools. Renewal decisions, contract reviews, and new vendor assessments handled without the bias that comes from vendor relationships. No referral fees accepted.
Staff training and adoption support
Ongoing training as systems evolve and new staff join. Adoption support when usage falls below target. The sustained engagement that determines whether a system continues to be used eighteen months after go-live.
Who it is for
Four firm profiles that make this the right model.
01
Mid-market professional services firms
Large enough to have real automation opportunity. Not large enough to justify a full-time Chief AI Officer. The Fractional AI Officer gives you the function at a fraction of the cost.
02
Firms that have completed an AI Readiness Audit
You have a roadmap. You need someone to own the delivery of it — without delegating that ownership to a vendor who has an incentive to oversell.
03
Partnerships with regulatory exposure
Law firms, accounting practices, HR agencies. Where AI governance is not optional and where a partner needs to be able to answer questions from an SRA inspector or PI insurer with confidence.
04
Firms that have had a failed AI project
A previous pilot stalled. The vendor relationship ended. The system was never adopted. The Fractional AI Officer diagnoses what went wrong and builds the programme that actually gets used.
Why Arqale
Independent. Sector-specific.
No vendor relationships.
The Fractional AI Officer function only works if the person filling it has no incentive to recommend a particular vendor, expand the scope of their own engagement, or avoid surfacing problems that reflect badly on previous decisions.
Arqale holds no vendor partnerships and accepts no referral fees from any AI tool, platform, or technology provider. The monthly fee is the entire commercial relationship. Our advice is governed by what is right for the firm — not by what we are paid to recommend.
The sectors we work in — law, accounting, real estate, HR and recruiting — have specific regulatory, compliance, and professional obligation considerations that generic AI consultants do not account for. The governance frameworks we build are designed for your regulator, your PI insurer, and your professional obligations. Not adapted from a template designed for a technology company.
No vendor relationships
Arqale holds no vendor partnerships and accepts no referral fees. Recommendations are made on merit, against your specific requirements, with no commercial incentive attached to the outcome.
Fixed monthly fee
The engagement is priced as a fixed monthly fee agreed at outset. There is no hourly billing, no scope expansion, and no invoice that varies month to month.
Sector-specific governance
The governance frameworks we build are designed for professional services firms with regulatory obligations. SRA, ICAEW, FRC, ICO, RICS — the specific obligations that apply to your firm are the ones we design for.
Quarterly renewal — no lock-in
The engagement renews quarterly. If the programme is not performing, you are not committed to continuing. We believe the relationship should be earned, not contractually enforced.
Find out if this is the right model for your firm.
Most engagements begin with an AI Readiness Audit. The Fractional AI Officer then owns delivery of the roadmap. If you already have a roadmap, we can discuss taking ownership from where you are.