#137 Can AI hold it’s own in coaching conversations?

A recent study put an AI coaching agent to the test, using ICF-trained assessors and the Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) to evaluate a real coaching session with a human client.
Full article: ‘Getting better all the time’: using professional human coach competencies to evaluate the quality of AI coaching agent performance

Out of 43 manager-led coaching sessions, the AI demonstrated behaviours consistent with ACC and PCC-level competencies. While it showed promising competence in foundational skills, it struggled with relational depth and regulation - areas where human coaches still hold the edge.

The takeaway: AI can support aspects of developmental dialogue, but it’s not yet a substitute for human connection.

How can human coaches set themselves apart from the coaching bots?

The researchers recommend human coaches lean into the qualities that make coaching deeply personal and relational. They highlight humour, embodiment, shared lived experience and cultural sensitivity as distinctly human traits.

Specifically, coaches can boost their impact by:

• Infusing sessions with playfulness and humour to humanise the relationship with their clients

• Integrating breathwork and mindfulness to deepen their clients' somatic awareness

• Sharing aspects of their lived experience to build a connection through shared identity.

AI cannot do this, and it is what builds a relational coaching experience.

In essence, it’s not about competing with AI. Rather, it’s about embracing what only humans can bring to the coaching space.