Coaching and AI: The Rise of the Bots
AI is changing everything - Even you and your coaching!
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Imagine you are mid-coaching session with a client, fully engaged and building that vital human connection. Suddenly, you hear about a steely framed robot claiming it can coach better than you, and for less than half the price. That’s exactly what many coaches fear could happen, and perhaps sooner than expected! In reality, AI coaching is emerging as a ‘qualified competitor’ with the rise of chatbots and algorithms entering the coaching space. But it’s not quite that simple. How will real-life coaches adapt to their new circuit-loaded coaching peers?
What is AI Coaching Anyway?
AI coaching refers to the use of bots, apps and analytics programs designed to automate and enhance coaching functions. So far, we’re seeing AI life coaches in the form of chatbots that set goals, provide motivation and track progress. AI can also review transcripts and data to generate insights. Essentially, think of AI as an extremely literal-minded robot determined to optimize human performance.
AI usability spans a wide range of functions: from conducting a full coaching session to helping you rephrase a coaching question, or even serving as a supportive tool during brainstorming sessions with your client. And the possibilities don’t stop there!
As of this writing, several active AI coaches are already in use worldwide. There are AI coaching platforms you can join or subscribe to, allowing you to create a coach AI version of ‘yourself’ by leveraging their foundational coaching algorithms. Meanwhile, AI is popping up across websites, search engines, and applications everywhere.
The Pros: How AI Makes Coaching More Efficient
Even the most skeptical coaches admit AI has potential upsides. For one, it expands access to affordable, always-available coaching. This is often described in grandiose terms like “the democratization of coaching” and the “the revolution of human development,” but for most people the impact is far less dramatic.
AI coaching does mean that basic coaching is available at much lower price points. This is great for making coaching concepts and conversations accessible to more people. Provided they have devices, the knowledge, and of course, the willingness to engage with an AI coach. There’s potential here, but waving the flag of “democratization” may be a bit heavy-handed.
Active professional coaches exist in nearly every country in the world, and most offer virtual connections for their services, making them widely accessible. This means live coaches are readily available, around the world. However, AI coaches can be programmed in any language and deployed globally for consistent 24/7 access. AI coaches also scan and prepare notes far more efficiently than human coaches, often detecting patterns a live coach might miss.
A few weeks ago, I used AI in a coaching session with an interesting result. The client wanted to know how to craft better questions for an upcoming team meeting. I asked, “What resource could help you with your questioning skills?” The client listed their managers and peers, and even mentioned online training they could take. But with each suggestion I could sense their energy dropping.
I asked about that shift I was hearing, and the client replied, “I don’t want to take a whole course. This just isn’t a large enough part of my work to invest like that. And I’m not comfortable approaching my managers for something like this.”
I simply asked, “Have you considered anything else as an option?”
My client jokingly said, “I guess I could Google it.”
My response was, “What if you did? Or what if you used AI?”
The client’s energy lit up immediately and even their body language shifted. In a matter of minutes, we brainstormed a few prompts, and they compiled a list of questions they felt confident about. Not only did the client gain value in the moment, but during the session wrap-up, they shared their biggest takeaway: AI (already built into their company’s proprietary software) was a resource they had never considered valuable before but now saw as easily accessible and incredibly useful!
AI coaches can deliver to far more people in a day than can a human coach. We, as humans, are limited by our stamina and bandwidth —limitations our AI counterparts don’t face. This scalability could lead to a boost in income for coaches as more clients access their AI-driven offerings due to their affordability and accessibility.
AI can be a great resource during brainstorming sessions within your existing coaching relationships. A well-worded prompt can open new worlds of thought for both the coach and the client!
When exploring sustainability with your existing live clients, ask them if they incorporate AI into their plans and structures. Some do, many do not. How much more efficient and effective could your clients be if they explored the role of AI in their own lives — and in pursuing their legacy, goals, values and dreams?
AI chatbots handle routine coaching tasks on demand, freeing up human coaches to focus on higher-level work. AI-generated insights can lead to hyper-personalized guidance while remaining unbiased and consistent in applying evidence-based coaching approaches.
Outside the actual coaching session, the case for using AI in your business operation is groundbreaking! AI can easily handle everything from scheduling and billing to content creation, research, article summaries, social media post generation, graphics creation, and much more — tasks that might otherwise require a team of two to five highly trained individuals. Talk about a time-saver! In my coaching workday, I’ve regained an average of an hour a day and doubled my productivity.
The Cons: Where AI Struggles to Garner Confidence
First, the elephant in the room: Artists, writers, actors, psychologists, and (of course) coaches worry that AI is not only a threat to livelihood, but possibly humanity. The image above for this article was created with nothing but a few words of description on an AI art website. For free. And that can be a sobering thought. But - Want to know a secret? The poor, harried coach depicted in the frame was actually missing her left arm, and not truly holding that shield - We had our in-house artist and designer repair her and make the image correct. The AI, for all of its data and artwork that was used to train it, is still very-much lacking in an understanding of what we need to see as humans to make the image complete:
For all its computational power, AI lacks emotional intelligence and intuition when it comes to coaching. It can’t sense when someone needs a gentler approach or read between the lines. It won’t notice if a client’s energy is down, or scattered, or if they are holding back tears as a human coach would. No AI coach can replicate the human aspects of coaching like building rapport, fostering trust and showing empathy.
In fact, one thing that will never happen in an AI setting is the profound sense of trust that arises between two humans. When we understand our place in the world in relation to other humans, and feel safely seen, heard and accepted, it’s a deeply affirming experience. The connection and belonging provide a powerful grounding force. To have our experiences, thoughts, and feelings normalized and embraced by another human supports a healthy sense of self-awareness. Even if an AI coaching counterpart uses similar words, it’s unlikely to evoke the same emotional resonance.
Ethical risks around privacy and confidentiality are another significant concern. Even the most sophisticated systems in the world are still sharing data, and the world’s largest organizations are suffering data breaches. While tremendous efforts are made to secure sensitive information, the truth is that nothing stored in a database is ever completely safe.
Bias in programing is yet another issue. What are the messages and implications of those messages when an AI coach has been developed and programed by a normal, fallible, biased human? How rigorously do developers examine their own biases, stereotyping, and assumptions to ensure they aren’t inadvertently embedding them into AI systems?
Additionally, there’s the risk of over-reliance on ‘always on’ electronics. This constant availability could lead to dependence on 24/7 bot coaches, ultimately weakening client’s self-efficacy. If many adults already struggle to disengage from addictive video games or social media, how will they resist an ever-accessible, supportive online voice? The long-term impact remains unknown. While it might prove beneficial in some ways, there are valid concerns to consider.
Navigating the Revolution as a Coach
How should flesh-and-blood coaches approach their new AI counterparts? At this stage, a hybrid model seems like the most practical solution. By allowing people to lead in strategy and relationships while AI handles number-crunching and routine coaching tasks, we can leverage the strengths of both human and machine.
To remain competitive, coaches should focus on expanding distinctly human skills like creativity, adaptability and deep emotional connections with clients. It’s equally important to learn how to ethically and responsibly incorporate AI tools into coaching practices. The future likely involves thoughtful adoption of AI rather than full automation. It requires ongoing conversations, both with and about AI, among coaches, experts and clients. By fostering dialogue and innovation, we can ensure AI enhances the coaching profession without diminishing its human essence.
Imagining a More Harmonious Coaching Future for Humans & Machines
AI seems to be the future of everything, and the upcoming generations are embracing it head-on. By leaning into AI with care and wisdom, coaches have the chance to amplify our positive impacts while retaining what makes our work uniquely human. Perhaps one day, an AI life coach might know just what to say to boost your confidence after a bot at work criticized your performance.
But for now, AI remains a digital tool; powerful but incapable of true emotional insight. As technology continues to evolve, it’s up to us. Coaches must guide its growth in an ethical, socially responsible direction. By shaping AI coaching with humanity in mind, we can ensure that these tools become allies rather than adversaries.
While you’re unlikely to see an AI version of me any time soon, I do welcome our ‘robot’ peers, and I’m finding ways to incorporate AI into my coaching practice more each day.
How have you started incorporating AI to enhance your coaching, or coaching business? Do you have a favorite way it’s changing your coaching-life? Are you hesitant to look into it, or even dead-set against it? Be sure to comment!
We promise that a real human will answer. 🙂
 | A guest post by
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I’ve interacted with ChatGPT as a client on several occasions, asking it to coach me as if it were an experienced coach.
At this point, it's ability to adopt a true coaching mindset is still quite basic. More often than not, it resorts to offering advice and consulting, directing client straight to solutions rather than fostering a deep, more exploratory coaching approach.