Fractional AI Director for UK SMEs and Local Councils. Board-level AI leadership without the full-time cost.
Finding a full-time CAIO typically takes three to four months. Most organisations are surprised when they see what the salary expectation actually is - the UK benchmark starts around £150,000. Simon works on a monthly retainer from £3,500 and can usually start within a couple of weeks. Places limited.
Simon Steggles
Fractional AI Director, Birmingham UK
"I built this practice because I kept watching boards get sold AI they were not ready for. That is a problem I know how to fix."
of AI projects globally fail to deliver their business case
Source: RAND Corporation. The technology usually isn't the problem. In every engagement Simon has reviewed personally, something was deployed before the governance was in place.
Annual cost of a full-time Chief AI Officer in the UK
A monthly retainer from £3,500 gets you that same director-level coverage - and Simon can usually start within two weeks of the first call, not three months into a hiring process. UK salary benchmark: Robert Half UK Head of AI salary data.
I work in a council or public sector body
Govern AI safely, reduce risk, improve services without uncontrolled shadow AI.
Public sector servicesWho this is for
UK SME owner or MD with 10 to 200 staff ready to move beyond AI experimentation
Local council or public sector director carrying live regulatory risk from AI tools already in use
Board or leadership team that has been sold an AI strategy but has nothing implemented yet
Why most AI engagements stall, and what is different about working with Simon Steggles.
35 years on boards. Simon has watched AI fail from the inside. Simon knows what it looks like before it happens.
Tech Director, Managing Director, Non-Exec - digital storage, digital forensics, tech, councils. Simon has been in the room when AI projects were approved on a vendor pitch - and back in the same room six months later, when that board was explaining to the auditors what had actually gone wrong.
Most clients have dealt with consultants before. The experience tends to follow the same pattern: statement of work, deliverables, handover pack, next project. Simon's structure doesn't work that way. Simon is in the director role for the full engagement, which means if something doesn't work Simon cannot point at anyone else. Simon builds on your own infrastructure throughout, which means when Simon exits there's nothing external that needs to stay switched on to keep things running. The AI champions training starts in week two, because by the time Simon exits those staff need to have been running the system for three or four months rather than reading about it in a document.
Simon Steggles is a Fractional AI Director based in Birmingham. Simon works with UK SMEs and local councils on AI governance, strategy and regulatory compliance - including ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act. AI-Si.com is his trading name.
EU AI Act maximum fines for prohibited-use breaches
Up to 35 million euros or 7% of global annual turnover for prohibited-use breaches under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 99. The general-purpose AI provisions took effect in August 2025. UK incorporation doesn't exempt you. If your products reach EU customers, or you're in a supply chain that does, the Act already applies.
Recent client outcome: West Midlands charity: £220,000 in additional grant funding secured through AI-assisted analysis of funding sources the organisation was eligible for but had not been claiming.
Public Sector
Every UK council deploying AI tools without a documented governance framework is carrying live regulatory risk. The ICO has published AI enforcement guidance. The EU AI Act public sector provisions are in force. The LGA has identified AI governance as a board-level priority for 2026.
Verified outcomes from live AI engagements
Documented results across UK public sector, legal, manufacturing, and professional services. All figures confirmed by the client in writing.
A Midlands council was about to return £300,000 to central government unspent. AI-Si.com reversed the benefits enrolment logic, completed a full GDPR data protection impact assessment, and identified £480,000 in additional funding the council was entitled to but had not been claiming. Total verified value delivered: £780,000 or more.
Read the full case studyCost reduction
AI computer vision on the production line cut operating costs by 43% in 90 days. Thirty staff trained as AI champions. No redundancies.
Read the full case studyNew revenue identified
AI-assisted document review freed 40% of senior fee-earner capacity. Two underserved client segments identified through AI market analysis.
Read the full case studyYears board experience
Tech Director, Managing Director, and Non-Exec roles across digital storage, digital forensics, and professional services.
Lower cost than Big 4 AI consultancy
Same board-level AI oversight as a Big 4 engagement. Hands-on implementation included. No strategy-only handoff.
Based on published Big 4 AI consulting day rates vs AI-Si.com monthly retainer. Methodology note.
Admin time recovered
One NHS Trust admin team. Process redesign in plain English within existing Microsoft 365 infrastructure. Capacity redirected to patient-facing work.
Read the full case studyAI services for UK SMEs and local councils
AI strategy, governance, implementation, and training. End-to-end delivery with board-level accountability throughout.
Implementation
AI Strategy and Implementation
- • AI maturity assessments with quick-win identification
- • Vendor selection and contract review
- • Build vs buy analysis with ROI modelling
- • Legacy system integration
Compliance
AI Governance Framework and Risk Management
- • ISO 42001 implementation
- • UK GDPR compliance following ICO guidance
- • Prompt injection attack prevention
- • Algorithmic bias audits - public sector and regulated industries
People
AI Staff Training and Cultural Change
- • Hands-on AI literacy training for leaders
- • Fear reduction and AI champion identification
- • Change management for resistant teams
- • Vibe-coding: building working tools with AI assistance. No coding required. Designed for non-technical teams.
Value
Fractional AI Director vs Full-Time Chief AI Officer
| Role | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| Full-time Chief AI Officer | £150K – £300K/yr |
| Fractional AI Director - AI-Si.com | £42K – £102K/yr |
Up to 85% cost saving. No 4 to 6 month recruitment process. Engagement starts within one week.
All financial outcomes on this page were confirmed by the client in writing. References and supporting calculations are available during engagement discussions. How I evidence every outcome
Free AI tools for UK SMEs and councils
Use them before we speak. They will show you where your AI gaps are and what implementation could realistically deliver for your business. No sign-up required.
AI Readiness Test, 20 Questions
20 questions. Your AI maturity score, the governance gaps you need to close, and the three highest-value quick wins available to your organisation this quarter. Takes ten minutes.
AI ROI Calculator for UK Businesses
Enter your staff count, average salary, and the processes you want to target. Get a savings estimate and a board-ready chart you can use in your next leadership meeting.
What you get from AI-Si.com that Big 4 firms do not deliver
Five commitments that are in place from the first week of every AI engagement.
I build in your environment
Every AI system I build runs on your infrastructure. When the engagement ends, your team can operate it. I don't hand over a specification document - I hand over something that works and that your people understand how to use.
Every outcome is evidenced in writing
The £480,000 in council funding and the £300,000 in operational savings are documented figures confirmed in writing by each client. The methodology behind those numbers is on the table before any engagement begins.
Data quality before AI deployment
Most failed AI implementations trace back to a data problem. I check data fitness for the specific use case in the first week - before selecting or deploying anything.
GDPR and security built in from day one
Simon held data protection responsibility at board level - not through a training course, but as the person accountable when the actual decisions were made. That changes how an engagement runs. Prompt injection testing happens before launch, not after. GDPR alignment goes in at design stage, not tacked on at the end.
No lock-in. You own everything.
Everything built belongs to you - the code, the workflows, the documentation, all of it. There's no proprietary platform to maintain and no ongoing licence owed to Simon once the work is done. The 30-day exit clause isn't something clients negotiate later. It's in the contract before anything starts.
What clients say about working with AI-Si.com
UK public sector, legal, manufacturing, recruitment, and property.
"Recruitment moves quickly, so anything clunky gets exposed fast. AI-Si.com were easy to work with, clear about what would genuinely help, and careful not to disrupt the desks while changes were going in. In the first quarter alone, we saved about £84,000 through better automation and less reliance on outsourced support."
Client reference available on request.
"Simon's fractional AI director service transformed how we approach technology. His board-level guidance helped us identify £180K in operational savings within the first quarter, and his governance framework gave us the confidence to deploy AI responsibly."
Client reference available on request.
"In property, speed matters and missed follow-up costs you opportunities. We did not need theory, we needed a process that would help the team respond faster and stay on top of serious enquiries. AI-Si.com focused on the points where momentum was being lost, and our response speed to qualified leads improved by 55%, with a clear lift in conversion afterwards."
Client reference available on request.
All testimonials are published with the client's agreement. Names and organisations are anonymised at their request. The figures quoted are accurate. Named references and supporting calculations are available on request during engagement discussions. How I evidence every outcome
Free download, no sign-up required
Free: AI Readiness Checklist for UK SMEs
A 10-minute self-audit for UK SME leaders and council directors. It identifies where your organisation stands on AI readiness, the governance gaps you need to close, and the three actions with the fastest payback. Download it before you speak to any AI vendor or consultant.
- - Score your data, processes and team in five minutes
- - See where AI will pay back fastest in your business
- - Spot the governance gaps that stop boards signing off
- - Walk into your next AI supplier conversation knowing which questions to ask and which contract terms to challenge
Free AI Readiness Checklist
Identify your operational readiness, risk exposure, and governance gaps before investing in AI.
Questions boards ask before retaining a Fractional AI Director
Costs, scope, security, sectors, and training. These are the questions that come up in almost every initial conversation with a UK SME board or council leadership team.
About AI-Si.com
AI-Si.com is a Birmingham-based AI consultancy led by Simon Steggles. It provides Fractional AI Director services for UK SMEs, local councils, and public-sector teams. Services include AI readiness audits, AI governance, implementation oversight, staff training, vendor selection, board reporting, and ROI tracking. Retainers start from £3,500 per month. AI-Si.com is the trading name of AI Director Ltd.
- Company
- AI Director Ltd trading as AI-Si.com
- Founder
- Simon Steggles
- Location
- Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, UK
- Market
- UK SMEs, local councils, public-sector teams
- Core offer
- Fractional AI Director
- Entry price
- From £3,500 per month
- Trust
- Cyber Essentials, PI insurance, UK company number, GDPR-first delivery
Find Out Where AI Can Save or Generate Money in Your Organisation
Book a free 30-minute call with Simon. Bring a real problem - staff time, governance worry, vendor proposal, failing pilot - and leave with a concrete first step you can take next week.