Fractional AI leadership for growing businesses

Your fractional AI department.

Conductor gives small and mid-sized businesses senior AI leadership on a part-time basis. We find where AI pays off, protect your data while you use it, and turn quick experiments into software you can trust.

Book a free AI readiness call See how it works
No long-term contractsYour data never trains public modelsBuilt for teams of 10–250
Guardrail layer · exampleRunning

Your systems

  • CRM
  • Email
  • Accounting
  • Files

Conductor guardrails

  • Classify the data
  • Redact personal details
  • Check access rules
  • Log the request

AI model

  • Sees the minimum
  • De-identified
  • Never trains on it
What your team sent
What the AI model saw
Task: draft a reply3 sensitive details kept private

Straight talk

How we work

Sometimes the right amount of AI is less than you were sold.

The Conductor approach

We'll tell you "not yet."

If a process works fine without AI, we'll say so. Some of our best advice will be the projects we talk you out of.

We're vendor-neutral.

We recommend what fits your business, including tools you already pay for. You don't need a new platform to get started.

Every project earns its keep.

Each recommendation comes with the hours it saves, the revenue it adds, or the risk it removes. If we can't name it, we don't build it.

Your data stays yours.

AI tools see only what a task needs. Accounts, keys and data stay in your name.

Sound familiar?

AI is already in your business. Is anyone in charge of it?

Shadow AI

Data in free chatbots

Your team is pasting customer emails, contracts and financials into free chatbots, and no one knows what's been shared.

The weekend app

A tool only one person understands

Someone vibe-coded an app that now runs quoting or scheduling. It works until it doesn't.

Vendor noise

"AI-powered" everything

Every software rep now sells AI features. You can't tell what's useful and what's a price increase.

No plan, no owner

No roadmap, no policy

You know AI matters, but you can't justify a $250K full-time hire to figure it out.

You don't need an AI department. You need someone to lead one, a few hours a week.

The fractional model

Senior AI leadership, without the full-time salary.

Growing businesses have hired fractional CFOs for years: an experienced executive who joins part-time, sets strategy and puts controls in place. Conductor does the same for AI.

CompareFull-time AI hireTypical agency or vendorConductor
Cost$180K–$300K a year plus benefitsProject fees plus upsellsPredictable monthly retainer
Time to start3–6 months to recruitWeeksFirst call this week
Neutral on toolsVariesSells their own productVendor-neutral
Data protectionDepends on the hireOften an afterthoughtBuilt into every engagement
Strategy and deliveryUsually one or the otherDelivery onlyBoth, plus the Orchestrator

Salary range is a rough US market estimate for senior AI roles.

Services

Everything you'd expect from an AI lead, sized for your business.

AI Strategy and Roadmap

Find the handful of AI projects worth doing first.

  • Process and opportunity audit
  • Prioritized roadmap with expected return
  • Quarterly reviews with leadership

Data Guardrails

Decide what AI can see, and enforce it.

  • Data classification
  • Redaction between your systems and AI tools
  • Vendor data-handling reviews

Tool Selection and Rollout

Pick the right tools and get your team using them.

  • Vendor-neutral evaluations
  • Approved-tools list and account setup
  • Integration with systems you already use

Prototype to Production

Turn vibe-coded apps into reliable, supported software with the Orchestrator.

  • Code, security and data review
  • Logins, database, backups, hosting
  • Documentation and handoff

AI Policy and Training

Give your people clear rules and real skills.

  • Written acceptable-use policy
  • Role-based training sessions
  • Prompt libraries for common tasks

Ongoing Oversight

Someone keeps watch after launch.

  • Usage and cost monitoring
  • Model and vendor change tracking
  • Monthly check-ins with your advisor

Data protection

Your data stays yours.

Most AI risk for small businesses comes from what gets shared, not from the AI itself. We put a layer between your business data and every AI tool you use, so models see only what a task needs.

Customer
Email
Account
Invoice
Request

Example record. The AI writes the reminder from the parts it needs; Conductor puts the real name and email back in before it reaches your inbox.

Least data, always

AI gets only the fields a task requires.

Redact before it leaves

Names, account numbers and personal details are masked automatically.

No training on your data

We only approve tools and plans that contractually exclude your data from model training.

You hold the keys

Accounts, API keys and data stay in your name and under your control.

Everything is logged

You can see what was sent, by whom, and when.

Working in a regulated field such as healthcare, finance or legal? We design around your compliance requirements from day one.

The Orchestrator

From weekend prototype to software you can run a business on.

AI tools now let anyone build an app in an afternoon. Those apps usually skip the parts that matter in production: security, logins, backups, testing and support. The Orchestrator is our method and platform for turning them into complete, maintainable solutions without starting over.

  • Runs on one person's laptop or a free accountHosted on reliable infrastructure you own
  • Passwords and keys sitting in the codeSecrets stored securely, with proper logins and roles
  • No backupsAutomatic backups and recovery
  • Breaks when the AI tool changesTested, versioned and monitored
  • Only the builder understands itDocumented and supported
  • Sends whole customer records to AIRouted through Conductor's data guardrails

  1. Intake

    You show us the app and what it's for.

  2. Assess

    We review the code, data flows and security gaps, and tell you plainly whether it's worth keeping.

  3. Harden

    We rebuild the weak parts on a production foundation.

  4. Connect

    We integrate it with your existing systems and the guardrail layer.

  5. Run

    Monitoring, updates and support, so it keeps working.

Bring us your prototype

How an engagement works

Three movements, from first call to running smoothly.

Each movement ends with something you keep. You can stop after any of them.

Movement one: Assess

About 2 weeks

We interview your team, map your processes, review the tools already in use, and find where your data is exposed.

You get: an AI Readiness Report with your top opportunities and risks.

Movement two: Arrange

About 2–4 weeks

We build your roadmap, put data guardrails and an AI policy in place, and pick the first two or three projects.

You get: a 90-day plan, an approved-tools list and a written AI policy.

Movement three: Conduct

Ongoing, month to month

We lead delivery: rolling out tools, training staff, running Orchestrator builds, and reporting results to leadership each month.

You get: a fractional AI lead, measurable results and a monthly scorecard.

Start with Movement I

Where AI helps

Practical AI, in the places that eat your week.

Professional servicesHome services and tradesRetail and e-commerceManufacturing and distributionHealthcare practicesReal estateNonprofits

Engagement options

Start small. Scale when it's working.

AI Readiness Assessment

One-time

Fixed fee

  • Movement I, start to finish
  • AI Readiness Report and data-risk review
  • Leadership presentation
  • Fee credited toward a retainer if you continue
Book an assessment
Most popular

Fractional AI Lead

Monthly retainer

Month to month

  • Movements II and III
  • Dedicated senior advisor, set hours each month
  • Data guardrails, policy and training
  • Monthly scorecard and leadership meeting
Talk to us

Orchestrator Build

Project-based

Scoped per project

  • Prototype-to-production rebuild
  • Security, data and code hardening
  • Hosting, documentation and handoff
  • Optional ongoing support plan
Scope a build

No long-term contracts. Retainers are month to month after the first 90 days.

FAQ

Questions owners ask us.

Don't see yours? Ask it on the call.

What is a fractional AI officer?

A senior AI advisor who works with your business part-time. You get strategy, oversight and hands-on help without the cost of a full-time executive.

Will you try to sell us AI we don't need?

No. Our job is to find where AI adds real value and to say so when it doesn't. If the right answer is a better spreadsheet or a process change, that's what we'll recommend.

We're small. Is this for us?

Yes. We work best with businesses of 10 to 250 people that want to use AI but don't have anyone to lead it.

Will our data be used to train AI models?

No. We only approve tools and plans that contractually exclude your data from training, and our guardrail layer keeps sensitive details from being sent in the first place.

Our team already uses ChatGPT. Do we have to stop?

Usually not. We'll move you onto business accounts with the right settings, write a clear policy, and show people what's safe to share.

What exactly is the Orchestrator?

Our method and platform for turning prototypes and vibe-coded apps into secure, hosted, maintainable software, connected to your data guardrails.

How fast will we see results?

Most clients have a roadmap within a month and their first working project within 60–90 days.

What if we decide AI isn't right for us yet?

Then the assessment has done its job. You'll know where you stand, what risks exist today, and what to watch for.

Book a call

Ready to put someone in charge of AI?

Book a free 30-minute readiness call. We'll look at how AI is already used in your business, where your data is exposed, and the one or two projects most likely to pay off.

No sales pitch. You'll leave with at least one useful idea.

What prompted you to reach out?