Fractional AI Director for UK SMEs and Local Councils. Board-level AI leadership without the full-time cost.
AI strategy, governance, and hands-on implementation for UK organisations that need senior AI leadership without a £150,000 to £300,000 Chief AI Officer salary. From £3,500/month.
Simon Steggles
Fractional AI Director, Birmingham UK
of UK AI projects fail to deliver their business case
Gartner and RAND research. Governance failure is the primary cause in the majority of cases, not the technology itself.
Annual cost of a full-time Chief AI Officer in the UK
AI-Si.com delivers the same board-level AI oversight from £3,500 per month. UK salary benchmark: Robert Half UK Head of AI salary data.
Saved for a UK metropolitan council
A further £480K in additional grant funding was identified through AI-assisted analysis. Zero GDPR incidents throughout the engagement.
Read the full case studyRecovered for one NHS Trust admin team
AI-assisted document handling and process redesign within the Trust's existing Microsoft 365 environment. No new tools installed. No patient data transferred to external services.
Read the full case study
Why UK SMEs and councils choose AI-Si.com
Most AI projects fail before they reach the board. Simon Steggles makes sure yours does not.
Simon Steggles has held FD, Non-Exec, and Chairman roles across manufacturing, professional services, and technology. He knows which AI projects will fail before they start, because he has seen the same mistakes repeated at board level across every sector he has worked in.
As a Fractional AI Director, Simon provides the same oversight a full-time Chief AI Officer would deliver at a fraction of the cost. He builds working AI systems, trains your team to use them, and stays accountable for the results.
Simon Steggles is a UK-based Fractional AI Director specialising in AI governance, AI strategy, ISO 42001 implementation, and AI risk management for UK SMEs and local councils. AI-Si.com is his trading name. Based in Birmingham.
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 organisations supplying to EU customers or processing EU citizen data are within scope.
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
FD, Non-Exec Director, and Chairman roles across manufacturing, technology, 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.
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
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 Simon builds runs in your infrastructure. Your team can operate it without him when he leaves. He does not hand over a specification document. He hands over a working tool.
Every outcome is evidenced in writing
The £480,000 in council funding and the £300,000 in savings are not estimates. They are documented, client-confirmed figures. The evidence methodology is shared before the engagement starts.
Data quality comes before AI deployment
The majority of failed AI implementations have a data quality problem at their root. AI-Si.com audits data fitness for purpose in the first week of every engagement, before any AI tool is selected or deployed.
GDPR and security built in from day one
Simon Steggles has held data protection responsibility at board level. Every engagement includes prompt injection testing, data minimisation review, and full UK GDPR alignment before anything goes live.
No lock-in. You own everything.
All systems, workflows, and documentation built during an engagement belong to you. There is no proprietary platform and no licence fee when the engagement ends. The 30-day exit clause is in every contract.
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 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 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.
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.