In the Coaching Room – with my silent AI co-coach

By Courtsey of Ed Stokes (photo)

This article explores how AI can act like a silent assistive‑coach in your practice—handling the heavy lifting of preparation and follow‑up so human coaches can stay fully present, intuitive, and emotionally attuned with clients.

Think of AI as the backstage crew in a theatre production—quietly moving sets, adjusting lights, and preparing cues—while the human coach remains centre stage, holding the story, energy, and transformation with the client.

Reframing AI: From threat to asset. In coaching, human presence is interpretative and relational, while AI is assistive, structured, and fast. When coaches position AI as an asset, we (coaches) will overcome doubt about technology and move on to quicker acceptance to position in coaching-related tasks like preparation, more focused strengths-based conversations, and better alignment with development goals.

Currently, AI excels at:

• Generating powerful questions and scenarios.

• Providing just‑in‑time information and summaries.

• Drafting content and reflection prompts at scale.

At present and future, human coaches continue to excel at:

• Sensing shifts in energy and emotion.

• Navigating complex interpersonal dynamics.

• Asking the question behind the question and challenging with care.

Push vs pull: Where AI shines, where humans must lead

In the HBR framing of push and pull coaching, AI can be particularly effective on the “push” side—offering ideas, options, and information to move thinking forward. Tasks like generating questions, summarising documents, and drafting content sit naturally in AI’s zone of strength, making it a powerful enabler of structured, directive coaching moments.

On the “pull” side—drawing out meaning, identity, and deeper insight—human coaches remain irreplaceable. Sensing what is not said, holding silence, reframing with empathy, and challenging stories with care are still uniquely human contributions that anchor trust and transformation in the coaching journey.

A 3D future of work for coaches

Microsoft 2025 report on the future of work suggests AI will reshape how we think about time, space (in‑person vs remote), and the relationship between humans and intelligent tools. For coaches, this 3D view means AI not only speeds up planning, follow‑up, and content creation, but also enables more responsive support that keeps pace with business and organisational change. Coaches who integrate AI well arrive at sessions more prepared, with deeper insights and more tailored support for each client. This shift turns AI into a co‑coaching in the ecosystem, rather than a competing “coach” in the room.

How coaches are currently using AI

In a recent certified AI coaching course, many coaches shared that they still do not bring AI directly into live coaching conversations unless there is explicit agreement with clients. Instead, AI is emerging as a preferred sparring partner for preparation—testing scenarios, refining questions, and organising thinking before a session.

For follow‑up, AI is particularly valuable for creating reflective communication, such as 30‑day follow‑up sequences, practice exercises, and gentle reminders—especially for coaches who find this step time‑consuming. Some coaches still enjoy crafting this themselves, but AI is increasingly seen as a companion that can extend the coaching relationship between sessions without diluting human quality.

How AI shows up in my practice

In one‑to‑one coaching, AI sits quietly in the background of my follow‑up process. It supports the creation of 30‑day reflective guides, email touchpoints after assessments, scenario creation and metaphor‑based exercises that help clients navigate decision‑making and identity questions. Prompting techniques—such as double or meta prompting—further enhance the quality of AI outputs, but they are still in service of a human‑led relationship, not a shortcut around it.

Yet the final responsibility always remains human. As coaches, we draw on instinct, ethics, and intimate knowledge of how a client’s strengths and vulnerabilities show up to decide what to keep, adapt, or discard from AI‑generated material.

Here we can connect further

- For coaches: What role do you want AI to play in your coaching theatre—backstage crew, co‑pilot, or invisible script editor? Share in the comments how you are currently experimenting (or resisting) AI in your practice.

- For leaders and organisations: If you are curious about integrating emotional and artificial intelligence into your leadership development or coaching programmes, connect with me here to explore how we can design a human‑first, AI‑enabled approach for your teams.

References:

Chatterji, A., Cunningham, T., Deming, D.J., Hitzig, Z., Ong, C., Shan, C.Y. and Wadman, K., 2025. How people use chatgpt (No. w34255). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Folkman, J., 2022. To get results, the best leaders both push and pull their teams. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr. org/2022/05/to-get-results-the-best-leaders-both-push-and-pull-their-teams.

Ibarra, H. and Scoular, A., 2019. The leader as coach. Harvard business review, 97(6), pp.110-119.

Microsoft New Future of Work Report 2025. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/the-new-future-of-work/[31Jan2026 accessed]