What does each option cost?
A full-time AI executive — CAIO, head of AI, the title moves around — costs senior-executive compensation, often with equity, plus the search and the ramp after it. Fractional work is usually a fixed-fee project or a monthly retainer. You’re buying senior time pointed at a specific problem instead of adding a permanent seat to the org chart.
Real numbers move with scope and market, so treat any figure you read as a range. The difference that matters is how much you’ve committed before you know whether AI pays off in your business.
When does a full-time hire make sense?
When AI is load-bearing. Several teams depend on it, the roadmap runs years rather than quarters, and you can point to money it has already made or saved. At that point the permanent hire defends itself in a budget meeting, which is the only test that counts.
When does fractional win?
Earlier than most boards expect. You have one or two workflows worth shipping, you need proof before you can ask for headcount, and every quarter spent searching is a quarter nothing ships. You get senior ownership now and something live in production. Your engineers pick up the patterns while it happens, which is half the value. If the results justify a permanent hire later, you make that call on evidence instead of a hunch.
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