AI’s Potential to Transform Coaching Opportunities

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being woven into the fabric of nearly every field—and the coaching industry is no exception. From scheduling tools to chat and voice bots, AI has provided many functions to support both coaches and coaching clients, and this is only the beginning.

However, this great potential also comes with a need to understand what our AI coaching capabilities are now, and what we want to do with that potential. ICF launched the AI Coaching Standards Working Group to create a framework to support coaches as they engage with AI, and they have established those standards to guide AI use today.

While we now have ethical standards, we must continue to ask questions about AI, especially because it is an ever-evolving tool. How do we want to implement AI? What kinds of tools are valuable to coaches and clients? What is ethical, and what is transformative?

Implementing AI to Empower Coaching

AI tools are simply that: tools. They are programs and software that coaches and clients can use in a variety of settings for different ends. However, there are currently different types of tools available, and most fall into one of two categories: coach assisting and coaching service.

Coach assisting is exactly what it sounds like—AI tools that support and assist coaches in running their business. They may be scheduling programs or data processing tools. AI coach assisting tools may process emails or measure client progress. They aid a coach’s operations, but they don’t take on any coaching responsibilities.

Coaching service tools can provide specific coaching services and simulate engagement to expand the coaching experience. Some are interactive over a period, while others are conversational. For example, email prompts may help a coach to increase their regular touchpoints with clients between sessions to remind them about activities to complete and questions to ponder. Meanwhile, a chatbot or avatar may be a useful tool that clients can employ to test ideas with as a supplement to human coaching sessions. Coaching services tools can fill in the gaps between coaching sessions, and they can provide summaries to update a coach on a client’s progress.

Additional AI coaching tools are expected to be developed and brought to market, including real-time coaching assistants, AI client simulators, and AI coaching evaluation. While the application functions will continue to expand, the overarching ethical standards for all applications remain vital.

Regardless of the tool, ICF’s AI Coaching Standards Working Group defined some key points to ensure AI coaching applications protect the client’s experience and results. Among these guidelines, it is important that a coach offer full transparency with the client about any AI tools they use, ensure those tools maintain protection of clients’ personal and proprietary information, apply thoughtful use of prompts, and maintain human empathy and understanding as a cornerstone for the engagement.

As AI continues to change and evolve, it remains essential for coaches to operate with trustworthiness and professionalism to serve a client’s best interests.

Preparing for the Future

While the current capabilities of AI operating in a coaching setting are clear, what is next is full of possibility—and some measure of uncertainty.

The future of AI is teeming with opportunity. Some coaching tools will continue to enhance the coach-client relationship, connecting clients directly with coaches across the world. More personalized and specialized tools are also likely on the horizon, geared toward specific types of coaching and certain client groups. And as the coaching industry continues to embrace AI, tools developed by coaches with their own knowledge and skillsets in mind will become a regular occurrence.

As AI advances and becomes more widespread, there will be a need to harness these tools in meaningful ways.

Coaches and clients must establish clear boundaries and guidelines for AI use from the beginning of a relationship. Transparency and clarity are crucial, because as AI evolves, so do the risks associated with it.

Coaching services tools are effective, but they are best used to complement a coach’s efforts. The human touch is critical. Coaches often serve as an AI tool translator, helping clients make sense of how AI can best support them to empower employees and transform company cultures. As tools continue to evolve and grow, coaches and clients alike must think about what their needs are. What tools will enhance the coach-client relationship? What is needed to encourage progress between coaching sessions? How can AI empower everyone involved in the coaching process?

Empowering Humanity With AI Tools

As we look to the future of the coaching industry, AI will inevitably maintain its place as a valuable tool. As its applications grow and evolve and technological advancement creates even more possibility and potential, one constant remains: coaches everywhere must adhere to ethical AI standards.

When thinking about the future of coaching and AI, it’s important to remember that coaching and AI work in tandem to facilitate empowerment and transformation. The future of coaching, while aided by technology, remains human.