Your Standing AI Function
The AI operating partner retainer is your firm's standing AI function. Not the build itself (that lives behind the Build door), but the 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. A GP can run it across the whole portfolio.
The AI operating partner retainer exists because every firm that gets real value from AI has one thing in common: somebody owns it. Not a committee, not "whoever has time," not the associate who likes Claude. 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 retainer 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 upkeep
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. The standing version of the Govern work.
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.
One Standing AI Function for the Whole Portfolio
The retainer does not have to stop at the fund. A GP can sponsor it across its portfolio companies, so the same person who keeps AI compounding at the firm does it at every operating company you own.
The point of running it centrally is consistency. One governance standard instead of ten different policies. One quarterly view of where AI is paying off across the portfolio instead of ten anecdotes. Scoped to the number of companies, not the headcount of each.
What a portfolio-wide program gives you
- ✓One operating partner for the fund and its portcos, running the same rhythm everywhere
- ✓Consistent governance: one AI policy standard applied per company, with secure adoption through the Govern door and the governance framework
- ✓Consistent reporting: a single quarterly view of adoption and ROI across every company
- ✓Each company can start with a Portfolio Company Value-Creation Diagnostic ($8,500) to find where AI moves the number
- ✓Scoped to the program, with preferred pricing as the count of companies grows
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
What does the retainer include?
After a first-quarter accelerator, the standing cadence is weekly office hours for the whole team, a monthly usage review against your platform's admin analytics, one or two build slots, applied platform watch with update notes, governance upkeep, and a maintained LP DDQ answer bank. Quarterly you get a roadmap refresh, a partner-group readout, and an ROI summary.
How are the tiers different?
Core ($10,000/mo) is the standing function: office hours, 1 build slot, the usage review, advisory, and the DDQ bank. Plus ($15,000/mo) adds a second build slot, a scheduled monthly working session per team, a quarterly new-hire session, and on-demand connector and vendor evaluations. Embedded ($20,000/mo) is a fractional Head of AI with a seat in the weekly pipeline meeting, live-deal support, roadmap ownership, a quarterly IC appearance, and light advisory to a few portcos. 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.
Can a GP run this across the portfolio?
Yes. See the portfolio-wide program above. A GP can sponsor the retainer across its portfolio companies for one standing AI function, one governance standard applied per company, and one quarterly view of adoption and ROI. Each company can start with an $8,500 Portfolio Company Value-Creation Diagnostic, and the program is scoped to the number of companies.
How is it different from a one-off engagement?
A one-off engagement ends; the platform keeps changing after it does. The retainer is the standing function that keeps adoption, governance, and the build current month after month. It also compounds: every build slot, usage review, and platform-watch note accumulates into a firm-specific system you could not buy off the shelf. If you need a single fixed-scope piece of work instead, the Enable and Build doors hold those.
Ready for a Standing AI Function?
30 minutes: your platform, your headcount, and whether the retainer fits the fund, the portfolio, or both. If a retainer is premature, we will say so and point you at the right one-time engagement.
Book a Retainer Fit CallWhat the Retainer Sustains
The Build Door
The AI Operating System and custom builds: the platform, data layer, modules, and agents that make your firm and portcos AI-native. The retainer keeps them running and growing.
The Enable Door
Training and platform rollout get your people and your stack to go-live. The retainer takes over and keeps adoption from sliding back.
The Govern Door
Adviser and SEC governance, plus portfolio secure adoption. The retainer is where that governance is kept current month after month.