What a head of AI does
The role exists in every SME, but nobody holds it: the CEO handles it between meetings, or the company waits. Our guide to the fractional head of AI sets out its three missions.
- Decide where AI pays off: spot the tasks where information gets lost, put a figure on them, choose the first.
- Install it: tools, business accounts, agents, connection to data, team training.
- Keep it running: monitor what is in production, adjust, measure the hours given back, report to the CEO.
Hire, consultant or fractional: the comparison
These three formats do not cover the same thing. An employee brings a daily presence, but everything then rests on one person, who rarely covers strategy, development, security, compliance and training all at once.
- In-house hire: €5,200 to €10,000 per month fully loaded, 4 to 6 months to recruit, what one person can do, continuity tied to that person.
- One-off consultant: fixed fee or day rate, a few weeks, recommendations, stops when the report is handed over.
- Fractional head of AI: monthly subscription, starts in a few days, tools in production month after month, a team behind your contact.
What Codito Ergo Sum's AI Partnership includes
The AI Partnership plays this role, with no commitment. Essential at €499 excl. VAT per month with leadership, Premium at €799 excl. VAT per month with teams. For an ecosystem that has become critical, the Enterprise Partnership, from €2,000 excl. VAT per month, takes on governance and maintenance.
- A dedicated consultant, your single contact throughout.
- 2 hours a month on Essential, 4 on Premium, split as you wish.
- A written report within 48 hours and an AI Maturity Score out of 10.
- A dedicated WhatsApp channel and 2 flash video calls of 30 minutes a month.
- AI agents installed and tailored training, extended to teams on Premium.
What this looks like for our clients
At GAEA Géotechnique, an agent prepares G2 study quotes, with systematic human review. At Gustave Rénovation, the owner builds his own management application himself, with Claude Code. SGRP and JBS have been on Premium since October 2026, on site organisation for the former and technical proposals for the latter.
The limits, and when to hire
At €499 excl. VAT, you are buying 2 hours of consultant time a month, a report and a direct channel, far from a full-time presence: the comparison with a salary holds for the role, not for the volume of hours. Custom Development is quoted separately, from €3,000 excl. VAT, and you remain free to decline.
Hire in-house when AI becomes the core of the product, or when it equips several hundred people with critical tools. The simplest way to decide: 30 minutes with the founder. If hiring is the right answer, we will tell you.