Glossary Approach & collaboration

Chief AI Officer (CAIO)

What is a Chief AI Officer?

A Chief AI Officer is the executive responsible for the use of AI across the organisation: strategy, priorities, governance and results.

Also known as CAIOHead of AIAI lead

Larger organisations increasingly appoint a CAIO, because AI is no longer an IT project but touches processes, people and risks across the organisation. The CAIO makes sure AI initiatives fit the strategy and that someone owns the whole.

For mid-sized organisations a full-time CAIO is often too heavy. Then final responsibility sits with the leadership team, with an owner from the business per process and possibly an external partner as a sounding board.

Ownership is one of the building blocks of an AI operating model.

Last updated: 4 October 2026

Relatedterms

Read on in the glossary

All terms

Strategy & implementationAI governanceAI governance is the set of agreements, roles and controls with which an organisation decides how AI is used, who is responsible and how risks are managed.Strategy & implementationAI strategyAn AI strategy determines which business goals AI should serve, which applications deliver the most and in which order you introduce them.Strategy & implementationAI operating modelAn AI operating model is the way an organisation is set up when AI carries out a fixed part of the work: which tasks AI does, who decides and which data and agreements underpin it.Approach & collaborationProof of Concept (PoC)A proof of concept is a small, fast version of an AI solution that proves the idea works on real data, before you invest in a full build.

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