The AI Operating Partner
The advisory retainer that keeps your firm's AI compounding. Not the build (that is the AI Operating System), but the standing partnership that runs alongside it: a first-quarter accelerator, then weekly office hours, monthly usage reviews, build slots, governance upkeep, and a maintained LP DDQ answer bank. Core $10,000/mo · Plus $15,000/mo · Embedded $20,000/mo. Three-month minimum, then rolling quarterly.
Every firm that gets value from AI has one thing in common: somebody owns it. Not a committee, not "whoever has time," not the associate who likes ChatGPT. A person who watches usage, fixes friction, ships small builds, and keeps the governance current as tools and rules change.
Most firms under 150 people cannot justify that hire as a full-time seat. The AI Operating Partner is that function, retained: a fractional Head of AI, not a software invoice. Vendor-neutral across Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude, and Gemini: we work on your stack.
Came here looking for Strategic Advisory or the Embedded AI Partner? Both folded into this retainer; the Embedded tier is the direct successor.
By Dr. Leigh Coney, Founder of WorkWise Solutions
Starts as an Accelerator, Then Settles In
The retainer does not start at cruising speed. Its first quarter runs as a structured accelerator, the engagement that used to be sold separately as the Enablement Program, now the on-ramp to the standing function.
After the accelerator closes, the retainer settles into the monthly cadence below and keeps compounding.
What the accelerator includes
- ✓Weekly working sessions for a cohort of up to 12
- ✓Two or three workflows embedded per person on live work
- ✓A close with a capstone demo, a pre and post AI Readiness Diagnostic, and a partner readout
- ✓Your prompt and workflow library packaged for reuse as a private firm plugin where your plan supports it
The Monthly Rhythm
Tiers differ on cadence, build slots, and scope. The rhythm itself is the same everywhere, and it is deliberately boring: the value of an operating partner is that these things happen every month without anyone at the firm having to remember them.
Office hours
Weekly drop-in video sessions for the whole team, every tier. Where "how do I get the AI to do X with this CIM" gets answered while it still matters.
Monthly operating review
60 to 90 minutes with your named counterpart. Platform usage analytics from the admin console: who is active, who has gone quiet, which teams lag. Interventions for non-adopters, onboarding for new joiners.
Build slots
A new skill, prompt template, connector, or small agent configured for a live workflow. Scoped to about a day each: 1 slot at Core, 2 at Plus and Embedded. Bigger work becomes a separate SOW. Use-it-or-lose-it.
Platform watch, applied
When your vendor ships something (new models, Excel and Office features, connector changes), we test it against your workflows, update your skills library, and send a "what changed and what to do" note.
Monthly one-page briefing
What shipped, the usage trend, what is next, and one market development worth knowing. The artifact the COO forwards to the partners.
Governance maintenance
AI policy kept current as tools and regulations change: SEC exam priorities, state AI rules, the EU AI Act where relevant. Tool and vendor requests evaluated. Incidents reviewed.
LP DDQ answer bank
Maintained, current answers to the GenAI questions in allocator DDQs, plus side-letter AI provision support during fundraising.
Quarterly, all tiers
Roadmap refresh, a 30-minute partner-group readout, and an ROI summary: hours saved and workflows changed. The numbers that defend the line item at budget time.
Your side of the deal
A named counterpart: the COO or an appointed AI champion. The rhythm needs one person on your side who owns the calendar and the follow-through.
Three Tiers, One Rhythm
Base prices cover firms up to 25 people. Firms of 26 to 60: add $2,500/mo. 61 to 150: add $5,000/mo. Above 150: by proposal. Annual prepay earns one month free.
- ✓Weekly office hours
- ✓1 build slot each month
- ✓Monthly usage review against your admin analytics
- ✓Standing advisory: AI strategy, governance, and tech stack guidance
- ✓Workflows re-tuned as models change
- ✓LP DDQ answer bank maintained for you
- ✓Everything in Core
- ✓2 build slots each month
- ✓A scheduled monthly working session per team or function, beyond drop-in office hours
- ✓Quarterly new-hire and refresher session
- ✓Connector and vendor evaluations on demand
- ✓Everything in Plus
- ✓A seat in your weekly pipeline meeting
- ✓Live-deal support within the governance setup we put in place
- ✓AI roadmap and rollout strategy
- ✓Quarterly IC appearance
- ✓Light advisory to 2-3 portfolio companies (deep portco work is a separate SOW)
Not in the retainer: enablement cohorts, builds beyond slot size, additional entities or portfolio companies, and new-office rollouts. Those run as separate SOWs at about 10% preferred pricing for retainer clients. Pricing is reviewed annually; existing clients are grandfathered one cycle.
AI Is Not a Project. It Is an Operating Function.
Projects end. The platform keeps changing after they do: new models ship, features move, a connector breaks, two analysts quietly stop using the tools, an LP sends a new DDQ, and an examiner publishes new priorities. Six months later the firm is back where it started, minus the budget.
The retainer is the difference between having installed AI once and operating it continuously. It is also where the compounding happens: every build slot, usage review, and platform-watch note accumulates into a firm-specific system nobody can buy off the shelf.
A full-time Head of AI vs. the Operating Partner
A credible full-time hire runs $300,000 to $500,000 loaded, is hard to attract at a sub-150-person firm, and spends most of the week waiting for the platform to need them.
The Operating Partner gives you the function at $120,000 to $240,000 a year, with the pattern recognition of running the same rhythm across multiple firms. When the firm outgrows it, we help hire and hand over. That is a success, not a churn event.
Retainer FAQ
Which tier should we start on?
Most firms start on Core and move up when the build-slot queue or the training demand outgrows it. Start on Embedded only if you already know you want a fractional Head of AI in the room: a seat in the pipeline meeting, live-deal support, roadmap ownership, and the quarterly IC appearance.
What are the commercial terms?
Three-month minimum, then rolling quarterly. Annual prepay earns one month free. Base prices cover firms up to 25 people; 26 to 60 adds $2,500/mo, 61 to 150 adds $5,000/mo, above that by proposal. A named counterpart on your side (COO or appointed AI champion) is required.
Do we need the platform set up first?
It helps. Most retainer clients arrive via a Firm AI Rollout or with an existing deployment. If your platform is not stood up yet, the Rollout comes first and the retainer takes over at go-live.
What if we need something bigger than a build slot?
It becomes a separate scope of work at about 10% preferred pricing for retainer clients. The slot system keeps the retainer honest: you always know what is included, and bigger work is priced in daylight.
Is this the old AI Operating System page?
Same idea, clearer offer. The AI operating system is what your firm ends up with: one governed platform, a growing skills library, and workflows that compound. The AI Operating Partner is who keeps it running. Strategic Advisory and the Embedded AI Partner both folded in here too.
Book a Retainer Fit Call
30 minutes: your platform, your headcount, your tier. If a retainer is premature, we will say so.
Book a Retainer Fit CallWhat the Partner Sustains
AI Operating System
The platform, data layer, modules, and agents that make your firm and portcos AI-native. The retainer keeps it running and growing.
Firm AI Rollout
Stand a platform up properly first. From $25,000, priced by firm size. The retainer takes over at go-live.
Custom Build
When a workflow deserves dedicated software: fixed scope on your stack, from $75,000.