Jared Lukes. Book 30 min

Applied AI consulting  /  fractional leadership

I build the AI, design how people trust it, and lead the org through using it.

Most AI value leaks out in the gaps between the model, the people, and the workflow. I am one of the few who works all three. Currently Chief AI Officer at Appraisal Dream, fractional CTO at two more firms.

25+ yrs R&D / transformation 10+ startups founded 3 exits 95%+ accuracy at 100K docs/day, in production
Retainer / fractional
01

Fractional Chief AI Officer

Rent the accountability, not just the advice. I hold the AI seat and own outcomes.

For founder-led teams and mid-market execs who cannot justify a full-time AI exec yet.

  • AI strategy, roadmap, and the call on what to build versus buy versus skip
  • Eval frameworks, model and cost and accuracy tracking, governance posture
  • Hiring plan and architecture so the function outlasts the engagement

In the seat now. Chief AI Officer at Appraisal Dream, fractional CTO at U.S. Asset Appraisals and Quartz Importers. The title is current, not aspirational.

Engagement$8K to $12K / mo retainer Talk through the seat →
Scoped build
02

AI Agents to Production

Most agent pilots never reach production. I get yours across the gap.

For founders with a stuck POC and heads of AI, data, or product.

  • Multi-agent orchestration, industrial RAG, computer vision, n8n workflows
  • Reliability, evals, governance, and the cost engineering that makes it pay

Live today. A 49 to 55 workflow agent platform at 95%+ accuracy, 100K docs/day, 60%+ LLM cost reduction.

Engagement$125 to $225 / hr, or fixed scope Scope it →
Standing retainer
03

AI Adoption & Change Enablement

The AI works. Your people are not using it. That is a human problem, and it is the one I solve.

For COOs, CHROs, and heads of transformation rolling AI into real workflows.

  • Where agents own a step versus where humans stay in the loop
  • Adoption designed from how people actually behave, not org charts

The rare combination. Twenty-five years of UX research into how humans adopt tools, paired with hands-on AI delivery.

EngagementMonthly retainer Start a pilot →
Workshop / cohort
04

AI Enablement Workshops

Not a generic prompt class. Training tied to your real workflows and a measurable outcome.

For leaders who want their team fluent, fast, without the LMS box-checking.

  • Hands-on sessions built around the work your team actually does
  • A clear before and after, not a certificate nobody reads

Taught for years. Faculty at Miami Ad School, Brainco, CVA, ITT Tech, and Rasmussen. Speaker at AIGA, MinneDemo, MCAD, and the Evanta CIO Summit.

EngagementPer workshop or cohort Book a session →
Signature
05

Service Design for the AI Era

Blueprint the whole journey and decide, step by step, where an agent acts and where a human does. The part everyone skips, and the part that decides whether AI helps or hurts.

For product and operations leaders redesigning a service around AI, not just bolting a chatbot onto it.

  • Service blueprints and journey maps that account for human plus agent handoffs
  • A rare credential: I ran an entire enterprise UX team through Cooper School service-design training

Why this is rare. Almost nobody can both teach service design and build the production AI underneath it. I do both.

EngagementProject or workshop Map your service →
Interim / fractional
06

Interim UX & Research Leadership

Cover the design or research lead seat while you hire, or run one bounded study. No long-term engagement required.

For teams between design or research leads, and leaders who need one study done right.

  • Interviews, journey maps, usability, taxonomy. Generative and evaluative, qual and quant.
  • Get the customer defined and the product re-anchored to its MVP values

In-house, not a deck. Led UX teams at U.S. Bank and Principal Financial. Broke an eight-year research stalemate at GE Digital. More than twenty years of it.

Engagement$125 to $225 / hr, or $8K to $12K / mo Cover the seat →

Rough budget ranges

So we both save time

Short projects
$125 to $225 / hr
Fractional seats
$8K to $12K / mo
Standing roles
$220K+ at corporates

Cash, equity, or pro-bono on the long-arc work. Not-for-profit and arts get their own conversation. Startups, case by case.

Available now

Tell me what is stuck. I will tell you straight if I can move it.

A 30 minute call, no deck, no pitch. We figure out which one fits and whether I am the right person for it.