Fractional chief AI officer
A fractional chief AI officer is a part-time person who decides which AI tools a business uses, sets the rules for their use and trains the staff.
At Firefly that person is Saad Afsar. He does the work by the hour for the owner or the chief executive of an owner-led business.
Saad has led a company’s adoption of AI before. He also built Firefly’s own website, tools and automations with Claude Code, which is Anthropic’s coding tool.
Some owners search for a fractional CAIO, a fractional AI officer or a fractional head of AI. All three names describe this arrangement.
What a fractional chief AI officer does, and what your staff do
| Part | What Saad does | What your staff do |
|---|---|---|
| Tools | Saad decides which AI tools the business uses, and for which work. | Your staff use those tools in their daily work. |
| Rules | Saad sets the rules for the use of the tools. | Your staff follow the rules when they use a tool. |
| Training | Saad trains your staff to use the tools within the rules. | Your staff keep using the tools after the training. |
The questions the role answers
The role answers four questions about AI in the business.
- Which AI tools should we use?
- Saad looks at the work the business does and decides which AI tools it uses for that work.
- What may staff enter into an AI tool?
- Saad sets the rules for the use of the tools. The rules say, for example, which customer and company information may be entered into a tool.
- Who checks work that an AI tool produced?
- The rules can also say who reads AI-written work before it reaches a customer.
- How will the staff learn the tools?
- Saad trains the staff to use the chosen tools within the rules.
Saad does not give legal advice. A business that needs advice on the law about AI or personal data should ask a lawyer.
Who the role suits, and who it does not suit
The role suits the owner or the chief executive of an owner-led business who wants one person to be responsible for how the business uses AI.
Firefly works with owner-led businesses in Toronto and New York.
The role does not suit a company that needs a full-time head of AI. That company should hire one.
Some owners look for a fractional AI consultant. The work on this page is the same, and it is charged by the hour.
How the role differs from our other AI services
Each of these five pages covers different work.
- AI systems and implementation
- Our AI systems and implementation service sets up AI workflows for marketing work and trains your staff to run them.
- AI CMO
- Our page on the AI CMO is about a marketing leader who uses AI tools. The fractional chief AI officer decides the AI tools for the whole business.
- AI visibility audit
- An AI visibility audit checks what assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity say about your business when a buyer asks.
- Claude Code training
- Claude Code training teaches an owner or a company’s staff to use one tool, which is Anthropic’s Claude Code.
- Security review of an app
- Our security review is for an app that was built with Lovable, Base44 or a similar tool.
Firefly is not affiliated with Anthropic, Lovable or Base44, and it is not certified or endorsed by any of them.
The price and the terms
The role is charged at Firefly’s published rate of $100 an hour.
We agree the number of hours with you before the work starts.
Saad Afsar does the work himself. He has led a company’s adoption of AI before.
Saad is also Firefly’s fractional CMO. The fractional CMO engagement is a separate service with its own terms.
- Rate
- $100 an hour
- Hours
- Agreed for each job
- Who does the work
- Saad Afsar
Questions and answers
What is a fractional chief AI officer?
It is a part-time person who decides which AI tools a business uses, sets the rules for their use and trains the staff. At Firefly that person is Saad Afsar.
Is a fractional CAIO the same thing?
Yes. CAIO is short for chief AI officer. A fractional AI officer and a fractional head of AI are other names for the same arrangement.
Is a fractional AI consultant the same thing?
Some owners use that name for the same work. Saad decides the tools, sets the rules and trains the staff under either name.
What do the rules for AI use cover?
The rules say, for example, which customer and company information staff may enter into an AI tool. They can also say who reads AI-written work before it reaches a customer.
What does a fractional chief AI officer cost?
Firefly charges $100 an hour. We agree the number of hours with you before the work starts.
Who is the role not for?
It is not for a company that needs a full-time head of AI. It also does not replace a lawyer, because Saad does not give legal advice.
How is this different from an AI CMO?
Our AI CMO page is about a marketing leader who uses AI tools. A fractional chief AI officer decides the AI tools and the rules for the whole business.
What is Saad’s experience of this work?
Saad has led a company’s adoption of AI before. He also built Firefly’s own website, tools and automations with Claude Code, which is Anthropic’s coding tool.
Book a call, or write first
You can book a discovery call on Saad Afsar’s calendar.
If you prefer to write first, send a few details in the form and Saad will reply within 24 hours.