AI Won't Replace Human Coaches But Will Transform How We Work

Tools change but people connect. When I look at how countries rush to integrate AI into education, I see the same pattern happening with coaches and their clients. Everyone wants the magic solution, but few stop to consider what we might lose in the process.

Let's take a step back and see how AI is actually being utilized in coaching and education. Right now, it's primarily in the client acquisition side - the marketing and sales area. What I'm seeing is many people churning out content that is pure AI. This takes away the actual human side to it. If you go into tools like ChatGPT and just generate articles, texts, social media posts, you get an AI feel to it. And I don't think people realize this. It's causing a big disconnect between the people they're trying to attract and the content they're putting out.

Here's where I think AI is important. We can come a long way with AI. We can come a long way using the tools. But we have to realize that it's not a be-all end-all solution. That's not what it's able to do right now. Even though some tools take you fairly far, at the end of the day, that's not what AI is.

The Tool vs The Craftsperson

The obvious solution is to use AI as you would any other tool. You wouldn't randomly plug numbers into Excel or Google Sheets and hope the numbers come out right. You plug them in deliberately with an intent, then double-check them and use the tools for what they're made for.

AI can help us shorten creation time. For example, if you want to write a blog post, it can definitely shorten research time and outline creation. But I would never use it to write the actual content itself. That's where you want to showcase yourself as the human, your perspective. If you just use AI tools to churn out everything for you, there's nothing left of you. There's nothing there. You have to be you, but AI can help speed up the content creation process significantly.

Just because an AI system says do X or Z, doesn't mean that's the correct way to go about it. I've been working in this area for over a decade now, and my skill and expertise are valuable. An AI system can help you get pretty close, but you have to be knowledgeable enough to discern what is true and what is not, what works and what doesn't. It can't replace anything fully. You still need all the knowledge and information. It can definitely speed up processes, but people tend to forget this and hope the AI is correct. Frequently, it's not.

Finding Balance in Client Relationships

When it comes to using AI in actual coaching relationships, I see potential but also serious considerations. I see this happening in the fitness industry where there are now tools offering complete AI coaching services where you don't even talk to a human - you talk to a computer based on algorithms and get feedback. I don't think that's the way to go.

What we can do is use AI to speed up research or reduce the need for it. Let's say you have a conversation with a client. AI could help by transcribing that conversation, whether in-person or over Zoom, and turning it into notes, to-dos, and reminders you can leverage. That's a huge upside - we don't have to sit there constantly taking notes while talking. But there's a lack of tools that allow us to do this at the moment.

From an ethical perspective, what is brought up to me by a client is strictly confidential. It's between the client and me. With technology today, most of our data is already compromised to some degree. But as coaches, we have to think about the ethical reasoning behind using advanced systems like AI. We must evaluate if it's strictly necessary or if we're better off not using it.

If we're working with a client dealing with grief, addiction, or something else of a very sensitive private nature, I think out of respect, we don't record conversations or plug more tools into that situation than necessary. Privacy between coach and client is extremely important.

Intentional Tool Adoption

I see many coaches lacking systems from client acquisition through to offboarding. Adding random tools to a situation like that causes grief and problems because you're doing something without having thought it through. The criteria for any tool should be: does this actually save me time? If not, what's the point?

Do I spend more time doing what matters if I use this tool? Or will it just be additional work? AI can help speed up certain processes, but it can only take you so far without actual knowledge and expertise. You won't know if it's the right direction without understanding your entire process and seeing where it makes sense to add a tool - not just adding it because someone online said it's fantastic.

The Future of Human Connection

We're already seeing coach apps for phones where you work directly with an AI coach. This can take you so far, but I don't think the entire industry will succumb to an AI revolution. There's nothing that can replace human interaction. Different AI tools will help us significantly speed up and free up time otherwise spent on recurring tasks.

Since the start of human civilization, we've sat around the fire talking and communicating. That's what's needed. I think we're going to see an increase in AI tools as a trend, but at some point in the near future, there will be a step back to human connection. I feel that coming already.

Coaches should learn and understand basic interpersonal skills and become incredibly skilled at serving clients. That's what we should focus on. Then find people who are good at things we aren't good at. If I'm a fantastic wellness coach but not a marketer, copywriter, or web designer, I'll find people who are and have them help me. Let them use good tools, AI or not, to help build the systems needed for my expertise to shine.

I don't think we should ignore AI. It's a very helpful tool. But at the end of the day, it is just that - a tool. It isn't the be-all end-all. When the Internet emerged in the nineties, everyone thought it would be the end of books. It wasn't. When Netflix emerged, we thought it would be the end of cinema. It wasn't.

AI is not going to be the ultimate solution. Be curious, but don't feel like you have to jump on every single thing because someone said so. Just be very skilled at your core skill set, and most things will take care of themselves.