Fractional AI Consultant

Fractional AI for small business without the $10K/month retainer.

Most fractional AI services are sized for funded startups with internal teams. For a 1–5 person business, that's overpriced and overscoped. The honest path: a $799 productized assessment, then scope-based implementation only when you need it.

See the engagement path
No monthly retainer required
Scope-priced, not hour-priced
5-hour-back guarantee on the entry

What is fractional AI, actually?

Fractional AI, in plain language.

A fractional AI consultant fills the role of an in-house AI lead on a part-time basis — picking the AI tools, building the workflows, and staying engaged to refine them, without the cost of a full-time hire. The model started inside funded startups (where the role made sense) and now mostly serves them.

If you're running a 1–5 person business, you probably found this page searching for the same thing those startups were after: an expert who actually ships AI, on a part-time basis, without the price tag of a full-time hire. The shape that fits a small business is different from the one most fractional AI services sell.

Typical fractional AI

$5K–$15K/mo retainer for funded startups

Right-sized version

$799 assessment + scope-based engagements

Built for

1–5 person small businesses

Why most fractional AI is a bad fit for small businesses

Four things wrong with the $10K/month retainer model.

Fractional AI as it's typically sold today was built for a specific buyer: a funded startup with an internal team to brief, the runway to absorb a five-figure monthly burn, and ongoing AI work that justifies the seat. Almost none of that holds for a small business.

Priced for funded startups, not bootstrapped operators

Typical fractional AI retainers run $5,000–$15,000 per month. The math assumes runway you don't have. For a 1–5 person business, that's a hire-level commitment — for someone you don't even need full-time.

Built for an internal team to brief

Fractional execs assume a chief of staff, a head of ops, an engineering team — someone to translate strategy into execution. Small businesses don't have that layer. The fractional consultant ends up either doing the work themselves (slow, expensive) or producing strategy that never ships.

Optimized for filling hours, not shipping outcomes

A monthly retainer pays for a seat. Both sides drift toward filling that seat with meetings, audits, and updates — instead of finite, measurable work. Three months in, you're still paying $10K/month and nothing has actually changed in your week.

Engagement model assumes the work is open-ended

Most small businesses have a finite scope of AI work: a few workflows, a couple of tools, a handful of automations. That's an engagement, not a retainer. Paying monthly for indefinite presence creates a relationship that outlives the actual work.

Most operators searching "fractional AI" don't need a fractional AI executive. They need a few workflows shipped and someone to call when a new tool comes up. Sized differently.

The right-sized path

Fractional AI work, done in the right shape.

Three steps. No monthly seat, no "phase 2" upsell pressure. The work is finite and outcome-priced.

01

$799 AI Tools Assessment

Productized — fixed price, fixed scope, 1–2 weeks.

The starting point for every engagement. 45-min discovery call, custom written report with 3–7 specific AI tool recommendations, priority matrix, 4-day quick-start plan, 30-min walkthrough. Backed by the 5-hour-back guarantee. About 40% of clients run with the report and don't need anything else.

02

Scope-based implementation engagements

$1,000–$10,000 — priced by deliverable, not by month.

For the ~60% of clients who want help shipping the recommendations: I take on specific workflows or builds at a fixed scope and fixed price. Could be one workflow, could be three. No monthly retainer, no "phase 2" upsell pressure — you pay for the work, not for my time.

03

Optional ongoing partnership

Quarterly check-ins, no retainer required.

For the small subset of clients with continuous AI work, a lightweight ongoing relationship — not a monthly seat. New tool comes out? We talk. New workflow needed? Scope it as a separate engagement. The relationship is finite enough to stay honest.

About 40% of assessment clients run with the report and stop there. About 60% take an implementation engagement. A small subset come back quarterly. Pick what fits, no pressure on the rest.

How this compares

Right-sized fractional AI vs. typical retainer.

Same expertise, different shape. Priced for a small business, guaranteed at the entry, scope-based the rest of the way.

 
The Smart Operator
Typical fractional AI
Pricing model
One-time $799 entry, then scope-based engagements
$5,000–$15,000/month retainer
Annual cost (one workflow)
~$799–$3,000
$60,000–$180,000
Engagement length
1–2 weeks for assessment; engagements priced by scope
Indefinite, with notice periods
Built for
1–5 person small businesses
Funded startups with internal teams
Guarantee
5+ hours back per week or full refund
Almost never
Run by
Bryan personally — every engagement
Often subcontracted or junior consultants
Bryan Smith, fractional AI consultant for small business and CEO of Crafted Labs

Bryan Smith

CEO, Crafted Labs

Who runs the work

Every engagement is run by Bryan personally.

Bryan Smith spent 10+ years as CTO and VP of Product Management at a cybersecurity SaaS company that exited in 2023. He runs Crafted Labs, ships AI in production daily, and built Cira — an AI voice receptionist running 24/7 for real businesses. The fractional work doesn't get handed off. Same person on the discovery call, the report, the walkthrough, and the implementation.

Operator who actually ships AI

15+ paid clients, 6+ hrs/wk avg saved

No subcontractors, no juniors

More about Bryan

“I knew I was losing leads because we couldn't keep up with follow-up. Bryan looked at how my business actually worked and gave me a plan I could run on day one. The outreach automation alone freed up 40 hours a month on my team.”

HB

Hannah Brees

Owner, Shine and Sparkle

Read the case study

Cleaning · commercial + residential

Shine and Sparkle

Implementation engagement after the assessment: three AI workflows shipped, no monthly retainer required. 40 hours a month back from outreach automation alone.

Read the case study

Equipment leasing

Fleet Equipment Leasing

A scope-based implementation engagement built a custom AI quoting app. From a full-day quote to minutes; 277 quotes in month one.

Read the case study

When fractional AI makes sense (and when it doesn't)

Should you take a fractional AI engagement?

Worth scoping

  • You finished the assessment and want help implementing

    The recommendations need building. You'd rather pay a fixed scope to ship them than spend three weekends figuring out the integrations.

  • You have a specific workflow that needs custom build work

    Not just tool setup — a real piece of automation tied to your actual data and tools. Worth $1,000–$10,000 because the time saved compounds.

  • The time-back math is real

    5 hours/week back is ~$26K/year in recovered time at $100/hr loaded cost. If the engagement saves enough hours to pay itself back inside a quarter, it's a fit.

Not yet (or not from me)

  • You haven't done the assessment yet

    Skipping it is how operators end up paying for workflows that don't compound. The $799 sets the scope so the implementation work hits the right targets.

  • You want a part-time CTO or AI executive

    Different role, different price. A small business almost never needs that — and if you do, this isn't the right shape.

  • You expect monthly check-ins as the deliverable

    The work here is finite and outcome-priced. If the value you want is "someone to talk to monthly," a retainer is probably what you actually want — just not from me.

Start the engagement

Step one: $799 assessment, fully guaranteed.

Every fractional AI engagement starts with the productized assessment. Implementation engagements are scoped after — only if you need them, only at fixed price.

Step one — one-time

$799

Discovery call and custom report
4-day quick-start implementation plan
30-min walkthrough — implementation scoped after if needed

The 5-Hour Guarantee

If you don't recover 5+ hours a week within 30 days of the assessment, I refund the full $799. No hoops. No questions.

Secure checkout via Stripe. You'll book your call after payment.

Fractional AI FAQ

Questions before scoping a fractional engagement.

Want a tighter view of the deliverables? See the AI Audit details. Comparing this to traditional AI consulting? See the AI consultant page.

What is a fractional AI consultant?
A fractional AI consultant is someone who fills the role of an in-house AI lead on a part-time, ongoing basis — without the cost of a full-time hire. They typically pick the AI tools, build the workflows, and stay engaged to refine them. The model started inside funded startups and now mostly serves them; small businesses usually don't need the same level of ongoing presence.
Do small businesses actually need fractional AI?
Almost always, no — at least not in the form most fractional AI providers sell. A 1–5 person business doesn't need a part-time AI executive at $5,000–$15,000 a month. They need a specific plan, a few workflows shipped, and someone to call when a new tool comes up. That's what the productized AI Tools Assessment is — a smaller, sized-correctly version of fractional AI work.
How much does fractional AI cost?
Typical fractional AI retainers run $5,000–$15,000 per month, designed around funded startups with internal teams to brief. For most small businesses that's overscoped. The Smart Operator path: a one-time $799 assessment, then optional implementation engagements at $1,000–$10,000 (scope-based, not monthly). About 60% of assessment clients take an implementation engagement; 40% run with the report on their own.
What's the difference between fractional AI and an AI consultant?
An AI consultant typically runs a fixed-scope project — a recommendation, a workflow, an audit. A fractional AI engagement is ongoing — they take a part-time seat in the business and stay engaged across multiple workflows over months. For most small businesses, the right shape is closer to consulting than fractional, because the work is finite and the ongoing burn isn't justified.
Do you offer fractional AI engagements?
Yes — for clients who need ongoing implementation help after the AI Tools Assessment. The Smart Operator's fractional work runs as scope-based implementation engagements ($1,000–$10,000) rather than a monthly retainer, so you don't pay for a seat you're not using. About 60% of assessment clients take this path; the other 40% run the report on their own.
When does fractional AI actually make sense for a small business?
Three signals: (1) You've completed the AI Tools Assessment and want help implementing the recommendations. (2) You have a specific workflow that needs custom build work — not just tool setup. (3) The math says the time saved is worth a $1,000–$10,000 engagement. If none of those apply yet, the assessment alone is enough. Don't pay for a retainer you can't fill.
Why don't you charge a monthly fractional retainer?
Monthly retainers create the wrong incentive — both sides drift toward filling hours rather than shipping outcomes. Productizing the entry point (one $799 assessment) and pricing implementation by scope (not by month) keeps the work tied to deliverables. It also makes the 5-hour-back guarantee possible: the engagement is finite enough to underwrite.
What if I just want fractional AI without the assessment?
The assessment is non-optional, on purpose. Without a discovery call and a written report, any implementation work is built on guesses. The $799 assessment sets the scope so the implementation work hits the right targets. Skipping it is how operators end up paying for workflows that don't compound.
Who runs the fractional AI work?
Bryan, personally. Same person who runs the assessment. No junior consultant, no subcontracted "AI specialist." 10+ years as CTO/VP of Product Management at a cybersecurity SaaS company that exited in 2023; CEO of Crafted Labs and builder of Cira (an AI receptionist running 24/7 for real businesses). Different lineage from a marketing agency that learned about AI last quarter.