How, When, and Why to Hire a Chief AI Officer

The depth and breadth of the artificial intelligence revolution and its impact on organizations is still unfolding, leading some businesses to create the role of chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) to help guide the technology's implementation and develop a roadmap for AI success. 

According to a recent Expereo survey conducted by IDC, the CAIO role is expected to take over many of the functions currently executed by the chief information officer within the next two years.  

To determine whether an organization requires a CAIO, leadership must first understand how deeply it plans to integrate the technology and how the establishment of the role would contribute to a long-term AI vision.  

CAIO as Foundational Element  

Philipp Herzig, CAIO at SAP, explains that the role of the CAIO and his team is to create a relevant, reliable, and responsible foundation for everything related to AI. “It starts with product, including how we design AI capabilities, how we build AI into our solutions, and how we allow for customized AI solutions,” he says in an email interview. 

That includes thinking about how to involve the company’s ecosystem, for example strategic partnerships with AWS, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral, NVIDIA, and others. 

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“It extends to the question of how we go to market and commercialize solutions, and we must also consider how we can bring all of the potential innovation to our customers as fast as possible so that business users can successfully adopt the new services,” he adds.  

For Herzig personally, there should be a strong emphasis on ethical aspects as well -- if done right, the role goes way beyond digital technology. “Organizations should give the CAIO the freedom to experiment, to involve employees in ideation, feedback, and testing,” he says. 

Allowing them to forge new paths is essential because AI is not just another piece of technology -- it will fundamentally change the way people work. “In addition, the entire organization must be committed to AI and support through cross-functional collaboration,” Herzig says.  

Challenges, Opportunities in the CAIO Role  

Expereo CEO Ben Elms notes that while many organizations are adopting AI, the implementation is fragmented and often ad-hoc. 

“No one is really driving the usage of it overall,” he explains in an email interview. 

However, having someone who can monitor and give guidance on things like privacy and security, as well as the economic impact both from a productivity standpoint and with streamlining the AI approach to reduce spending will really help organizations. “That way they aren’t spending on AI what they are saving,” Elms says. 

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As soon as leadership feels AI is a long-term strategy -- not just something different departments are using but are looking to scale -- is when they must make hiring a CAIO a priority.  

Elms notes the lines between a CAIO and others in the C-suite including the CTO and CIO can be blurred at times. “They’re all responsible for technology development and innovation, so how do you explicitly create swim lanes to keep everyone focused?”  

CAIOs, CIOs, CTOs Work Together 

With a CTO and a CIO already on the executive team, adding a third C-level technology leader to a leadership group might muddy the waters a bit and cause some politicking. 

That means organizations might want to consider a hierarchy and have the CAIO report to the CIO or CTO early on before making the jump. “This could reduce confusion as to who is doing what as the three need to be united,” Elms says.  

To that end, before hiring a CAIO, organizations need to develop a well-thought-out job description. 

For example, an organization could have a CAIO report to a CIO with political capital and AI knowledge to better arm the CIO with ideas and innovations to disrupt current methods being used in the IT teams. 

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“A CAIO specifically focuses on all things AI from overall strategy to applications while a CTO has a much broader, overarching view of the AI technology and strategy,” Elms explains. 

If a company has a CAIO, the executive should work closely with the CTO to align on the latest and greatest on the AI front so that there’s a united front when it comes to the strategy for the entire organization.    

Elms cautions that if a company hires a CAIO just to stay on trend and not to align with the long-term vision of the company, the integration will be rough and won’t yield the intended results. 

CAIOs Focus on the Future  

Caroline Carruthers, CEO and co-founder of Carruthers and Jackson also notes because there is so much overlap with other C-suite members like the chief data officer or CIO in terms of clear responsibilities it’s going to be “incredibly difficult” to carve out a role. 

She recommends establishing an up-front agreement and understanding between the organization and the new hire about what’s going to happen in the short and long term as to what the actual role entails. 

“Be realistic about what you want them to do,” she explains in an email interview. “Determine which metrics will define success and make sure you are honest, transparent and realistic when talking to candidates.” 

She adds that no strategy should exist that doesn’t support the main business strategy -- it’s about understanding what specifically about establishing a CAIO role is going to move the businesses forward.  

“Any business leader with responsibility for AI implementation and innovation needs to be focused on understanding it and how it can be used across an organization,” Carruthers says.