Frequently Asked Questions

Everything organizations want to know before joining the Collective.

Membership & Pricing

How much does membership cost?

Membership pricing is based on how many staff members you designate as AI Navigators. Navigators are the internal leaders who actively participate in the Collective, collaborate with peers, and guide AI capability-building inside your organization.

You can start small—or build a cross-functional Navigator team—depending on your size, structure, and ambitions.

Number of Navigators	Annual Investment	Best Fit For
1 Navigator	$20,000 / year	Smaller organizations or pilot efforts
2 Navigators	$25,000 / year	Growing teams sharing leadership
3 Navigators	$27,500 / year	Cross-functional collaboration
3-5 Navigators	$30,000 / year	Larger or more complex organizations

All memberships include full access to the Collective, Navigator programming, tools, peer learning, and ongoing updates.

Fractional Navigator Services:The AI Navigator Collective offers fractional AI Navigator services, where one of our coaches will lead your team through the AI Navigator pathway. Pricing for these services is customized based on each customers’ needs.

How Many Navigators Should You Designate?

There’s no single “right” answer—this is about matching capacity to complexity.

Smaller organizations often designate 1–2 Navigators who can coordinate AI efforts across teams.
Mid-size organizations typically benefit from 2–3 Navigators working across strategy, operations, or people functions.
Larger organizations often designate 4–5 Navigators to represent multiple functions—commonly strategy, operations, HR/people, IT, or data.

The goal isn’t more people—it’s shared ownership and cross-functional alignment.

If you’re unsure, we’ll help you think through the right structure during your follow-up conversation.

What do we get when we join the Al Navigator Collective?

When your company joins the AI Navigator Collective, you designate up to five internal AI Navigators—the leaders who will guide AI adoption inside your organization. Those Navigators are supported through a 12-month, five-phase pathway designed to move your company from experimentation to becoming a truly AI-capable organization.

Your membership gives your Navigators—and your organization—access to a complete capability-building system, including:

The Navigator Pathway: Full access to the five-phase capability-building model
1:1 and Group-based Navigator Coaching: Personalized support for implementation, troubleshooting, and leadership development
AI Readiness & Opportunity Assessments: Tools that surface quick wins and highest-ROI opportunities
Industry-Specific Use Cases: Tailored guidance based on your sector and operations
Peer Learning Communities: Curated groups by organization size, industry, function, and team role
Governance Templates & Workflow Redesign Kits: Structured tools to build durable, responsible capability
Operational Playbooks & Prioritization Models: Resources to plan, sequence, and sustain AI capability long-term
Latest Advancements in AI: AI updates curated to your industry, business, the softwares you use
Technical Assistance Network: Vetted technical resource and support providers
Team Training: Access to AI training modules you can implement internally for your team
Optional Executive Education Certification Add-on: A Chief AI Officer Certification program offered through Walsh University

Enrollment, Cohorts & Payment

When can we start?

The AI Navigator Collective launches new cohorts four times per year—January, April, July, and September. When you enroll, you’ll choose the cohort start date that works best for your Navigators and your organization.

Cohort-based enrollment allows us to align coaching, programming, and peer learning so your Navigators move through the AI Navigator Pathway alongside organizations at a similar stage. This structure ensures consistent pacing, stronger collaboration, and the right level of support at each phase of the journey.

If you’re unsure which cohort is the best fit, we’ll help you decide during your enrollment conversation.

Why do you enroll organizations in cohorts?

Cohorts allow organizations to begin at the same time and progress through the Pathway with structured pacing. This ensures coaching and training are coordinated, predictable, and timely. Cohorts also create strong peer learning communities—groups structured by organizational size, industry, and Navigator role—so your Navigators learn alongside peers facing similar challenges and opportunities.

What is the payment schedule?

A 50% deposit is due after your reservation is accepted to secure a spot in your chosen cohort.

The remaining 50% is due at the start of your cohort.

All payments are made via an electronic payment link. We will cover payment details and timelines during our initial conversation.

Navigators & Internal Roles

How many Navigators should we designate?

There’s no single “right” answer—this is about matching capacity to complexity.

Smaller organizations often designate 1–2 Navigators who can coordinate AI efforts across teams.
Mid-size organizations typically benefit from 2–3 Navigators working across strategy, operations, or people functions.
Larger organizations often designate 4–5 Navigators to represent multiple functions—commonly strategy, operations, HR/people, IT, or data.

The goal isn’t more people—it’s shared ownership and cross-functional alignment.

If you’re unsure, we’ll help you think through the right structure during your follow-up conversation.

Who makes the best Navigators?

The strongest Navigators tend to be people who sit at the intersection of goals, workflows, and cross-functional decision-making. Ideal candidates often come from:

Strategy roles (visibility into organization-wide priorities)
Operations roles (deep understanding of workflows and bottlenecks)
HR or People roles (insight into skills, culture, and change management)
IT roles (for larger companies, or where technical alignment matters)

Strong Navigators are: curious, systems thinkers, collaborative, trusted, good communicators, comfortable with technology, and skilled at navigating internal dynamics. They do not need technical backgrounds—just the ability to lead structured work and build alignment across teams.

What if we're not sure who should be our Navigators?

That’s completely normal. During your follow-up call, we’ll talk through potential candidates and help you evaluate fit based on role alignment, influence, availability, and the workflows you want to strengthen.

Here’s a simple checklist to guide early thinking:

Navigator Selection Checklist

Works in strategy, operations, HR/people, or IT
Understands organizational priorities and how work gets done
Has cross-functional trust and influence
Comfortable with technology and learning new tools
Curious, adaptive, reliable, communicative
Can dedicate 4–8 hours per week available to lead capability-building

We'll refine your list together.

Do Navigators need a technical background?

No. Navigators do not need deep technical expertise. The Collective provides templates, frameworks, coaching, and step-by-step tools to guide them through the technical aspects at the right level.

What is the Chief Al Officer Certification Add-on?

The Chief AI Officer (CAIO) Certification is an optional executive education add-on for organizations that want to provide formal, credentialed leadership development to one of their AI Navigators.

Through a partnership with local universities, the AI Navigator Collective offers a year-long Chief AI Officer executive education certification that runs in direct alignment with the AI Navigator Pathway.

As your Navigator moves through the Collective’s five-phase, 12-month Pathway, they can simultaneously participate in this official executive education program—applying what they’re learning in real time inside your organization while earning a recognized CAIO credential.

Key details:

Cost: $15,000-$30,000 depending on program (in addition to Collective membership)
Who it’s for: One designated Navigator per organization
Time commitment: An additional 4-6 hours per month
Format: Executive-level learning delivered virtually and/or in person through Walsh University
Curriculum alignment: Fully integrated with the AI Navigator Pathway—no duplicate or disconnected coursework

This add-on is ideal for organizations that want to deepen internal AI leadership, formalize the Navigator role, and invest in long-term executive-level capability that stays with the company.

How do organizations manage retention after making this investment?

Many organizations use tuition reimbursement or professional development retention agreements for advanced training investments. These agreements typically require employees to remain with the organization for a defined period (often 12–24 months) or repay a portion of the cost if they leave earlier. Your organization may already have a similar policy in place, and we’re happy to discuss how others structure this in practice.

Organizational Readiness & Fit

Are we ready for the Collective if we're at the very beginning of Al adoption?

Yes. You do not need existing pilots or advanced tools to be ready. The Pathway begins with readiness, alignment, and shared language. What matters most is your commitment to building internal capability, not your starting point.

What if we've already started experimenting with Al?

That’s great. Many organizations join with early experimentation underway. The Pathway helps you evaluate what’s working, strengthen governance, reduce risk, and bring structure to efforts that may currently be isolated or inconsistent.

Will this overwhelm our teams?

No. The Pathway is intentionally designed to reduce chaos. Navigators receive pacing guidance, coaching, ready-to-use templates, and implementation tools so the work feels structured, manageable, and aligned with your existing priorities.

Results, Timeline & Ongoing Participation

How long does it take to see results?

Most organizations see early wins within 8–12 weeks, typically through quick-win pilots and early workflow redesigns. As you progress, you’ll experience clearer governance, faster decision-making, and stronger cross-functional alignment.

What happens after Year 1?

Most organizations continue with the AI Navigator Collective after Year 1 to maintain, strengthen, and evolve the capability they’ve built.

In Year 2 and beyond, your organization remains part of the Collective to retain ongoing access to the most up-to-date tools, governance models, workflow redesign guidance, peer learning communities, training resources, and coaching as AI continues to change. The ongoing is continuity and consistency—not starting over and not expanding departments. Organizations use the Collective to:

Maintain and refine AI governance and risk practices
Strengthen workflows already in place
Stay aligned with new AI capabilities and best practices
Support existing Navigators and onboard new ones as needed
Continue developing and implementing new AI Use Cases and AI Transformation plans
Continue learning alongside peer organizations facing similar challenges
Get ongoing updates when the software and platforms your organization uses release major AI-related changes
Get access to the latest training and executive guidance as the field evolves
Continue peer learning and coaching support to help Navigators adapt and mature their approach over time

Staying in the AI Navigator Collective ensures your organization doesn’t lose momentum—and remains confident, current, and capable as AI technologies, expectations, and risks continue to evolve.

Do we need to renew membership each year?

Yes. AI is evolving quickly, and organizations that stay in the Collective maintain alignment with the latest advances in governance, workflow design, and responsible implementation. Continued membership ensures you don’t lose momentum.