Disclosure
Pacific Software Ventures (PSV) sells the monthly plans on this page and runs the CRE AI Institute, so we have a stake in what you choose. The checklist below applies to any fractional chief AI officer, ours included.
What is a fractional chief AI officer?
A fractional chief AI officer is a senior AI lead your firm shares for part of each month instead of hiring full time. For a CRE firm that means picking which workflows to put AI on first, setting the rules for deal documents and data, training the team on its own deals, and reviewing what gets built. At PSV we offer this as monthly advisory and training, $2K to $5K a month in three published plans, and each plan's scope is listed below. The entry plan is advisory only, with no training sessions; the two upper plans add hands-on training on your own work. We stay on as your firm's embedded AI team.
What a fractional CAIO covers in a CRE firm
This is the role in general, whoever fills it. What each of our plans includes is listed under the plans below.
- Priorities. Which jobs to put AI on first, such as underwriting prep, lease abstracts, investor reporting or prospecting, and which to leave alone.
- Rules for documents and data. Which tools and plans the firm uses, what may go into them, and what your NDAs and data licenses allow. Is AI safe for deal documents
- Training. Hands-on sessions on your own deals and templates, so the habits carry into live work.
- Review. A second pair of eyes on what your team builds or buys, before it touches a live deal.
- Measurement. Hours saved per deal or per report, checked against how the work ran before, so you know what is paying off.
Fractional, full-time, or a one-off consultant
- Fractional CAIO. Fits most CRE firms: you want ongoing direction and training, and the work does not fill a senior full-time seat yet.
- Full-time hire. Makes sense when AI work runs across several teams every day and someone needs to own it inside the firm. A fractional lead can help you define that role first.
- One-off consultant. Fits a single scoped project, such as an audit and a roadmap, with a fixed price and an end date. AI consulting for CRE
- Training individuals only. If you need people trained, not a firm-wide lead, the CRE AI Institute starts at $69 a month with a 7-day free trial. CRE AI training
How to judge any fractional chief AI officer
For the full buyer's checklist, including pricing models and contract terms, see our guide to choosing an AI consultant for CRE.
- Is the price published? You should know what a month costs and what it includes before the first call. How to choose an AI consultant for CRE
- Have they shipped AI in CRE? Ask for client results you can read, with numbers.
- Do they work in your tools and data? Advice built around your templates and permissions beats a generic playbook.
- Do they train your people? Advice alone leaves the skill outside your firm. Ask how your people will learn to do the work.
- Who owns what gets built? Get it in writing before any build starts.
- Will they tell you where AI is not ready? Some CRE jobs need a person. A good lead says which. What AI actually works in CRE
What we do: three monthly plans
Our monthly advisory and training plans are how PSV offers this role. They run $2K to $5K a month. These are starting scopes, set with your firm before the first month. Sessions are built around up to two priorities you choose each month, and email questions are usually answered within two business days.
- Advisory, $2,000 a month. For a team already using AI that wants a regular outside view. Includes: two 45-minute advisory calls a month; feedback on one item your team is developing; up to four email questions a month.
- Training + Light Advisory, $3,000 a month. Hands-on sessions built around the priorities you choose. Includes: three 60-minute virtual sessions a month; a hands-on exercise in each session, on your own examples; live Q&A and a written takeaway after each session; one 30-minute advisory check-in a month; up to four email questions a month.
- Training + Advisory, $5,000 a month. More sessions, deeper advisory, and review of what your team is developing. Includes: four 60-minute virtual sessions a month; a hands-on exercise in each session, on your own examples; live Q&A and a written takeaway after each session; two 45-minute advisory calls a month; feedback on up to two items your team is developing; up to eight email questions a month.
- Builds. A small build can be included with Training + Advisory once its scope is agreed, delivered in your own Claude workspace or run in PSV-managed cloud. Larger builds are priced separately. What AI consulting costs in CRE
The team behind the plans
The people who run your sessions are the ones who build AI systems for CRE firms. Two of those builds:
- Westlake Realty Group. Westlake Realty Group cut per-deal underwriting from 6-8 hours of senior time to a 20-minute review, in its own model with every number traced to source. Read the Westlake Realty Group case study
- Industry Real Estate Partners. Industry Real Estate Partners' principals start each day with a ranked lead queue and first-touch drafts in their own voice, with no research hires added. The firm has had 60 prospect replies from AI-assisted outreach as of late September 2026. Read the Industry Real Estate Partners case study
Common questions
- What does a fractional chief AI officer do at a real estate firm?
- Sets the firm's AI priorities, writes the rules for deal documents and data, trains the team on its own work, reviews what gets built or bought, and measures what pays off. It is a senior role your firm shares with others and pays for monthly.
- How much does a fractional chief AI officer cost?
- Ours costs $2K to $5K a month, in three plans: Advisory at $2,000 a month, Training + Light Advisory at $3,000 a month, Training + Advisory at $5,000 a month. Whoever you consider, ask for the monthly price and what it includes in writing. Our AI consultant cost guide covers the other pricing models.
- Is a fractional CAIO the same as an AI consultant?
- Not quite. A consultant usually runs one scoped project with an end date, such as an audit and a roadmap. A fractional CAIO stays on over time to set direction, train people and review the work. We offer both: the one-off engagement is on our AI consulting page, and the monthly plans are on this one.
- Does a monthly plan include building AI tools?
- A small build can be included with Training + Advisory once its scope is agreed, delivered in your own Claude workspace or run in PSV-managed cloud. Larger builds are priced separately.
- Who owns what you build?
- You own what we build for you. PSV's pre-existing tooling is licensed to you.
- Do we need one if we already use ChatGPT or Claude?
- Not always. If a few people use it well, training may be enough. A fractional lead helps when usage is uneven, nobody has set rules for deal documents, or you want AI in a core workflow like underwriting.