In 2014, I attended a Coaching Industry conference in Silicon Valley, California. Presenting was the head of Leadership at Google. While wearing a Star Wars suit, his key message was: computers will take over the delivery of Coaching.
Today, almost 10 years later, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making impact in many industries, including coaching. It’s safe to say that its impact will further increase in the years ahead.
Let me share with you my vision on the coaching industry in the AI era for the next five to ten years.
I see three big trends impacting the industry.
- AI will play a much bigger role in the sales and marketing of Coaching. But I do not see AI taking over the delivery of coaching. Probably the most important reason is that AI is not capable of being empathetic. It feels too artificial. Which is critical for an impactful coaching programme. The richness and potential of the human-to-human interaction is for now unique. I don’t know if this is forever (because forever is a long time..).
- AI makes coaching better available to the wider public. More tools become available at more affordable price points. More democatic. Think about coaching sessions with chatbots. Will this experience ever feel like working with a real person? I don’t know. But I don’t expect it in the next years.
- AI is assisting coaches in the delivery of their work. It’s a new dynamic between AI, the coach and the coachee. AI giving and checking homework and preparations for instance. AI providing structure, tools and ideas. All three working in close partnership. Coaching powered by AI.
- Coaches must make sure to differentiate themselves based on their unique points. Today that’s the richness, uniqueness and deep personal relationship with their coachee. Focus here to differentiate yourself in the unregulated and busy coaching market.
- Coaches must choose precisely in which market they want to work. You can’t be everything to everyone. In the mass market you need a platform, efficiency, and sharp pricing. The higher end of the market will probably be left untouched. But is niche and you need an excellent reputation and track record to be accepted. I expect more price pressure in the middle segments of the market.
- Embrace Artificial Intelligence in your practice. Resisting makes no sense. Keep your eyes wide open on the developments.
- If you work with a toolbox, make sure you have a deep understanding and application to unleash its real power. That’s where you make the difference. Everybody can buy more tools. But superficial coaching is not sustainable.
- Think twice before getting into coaching! Really. Perhaps it appears simple, but it is not! I’m in this industry myself for 30 years, and I’ve seen so often how people underestimate it. They think: how hard can it be? I promise you: it’s a difficult industry! Especially from an economic perspective. Only a selected few prove to be able to generate a healthy income stream from coaching. I’ve seen many great people fail. If you don’t offer real added value, it’s not going to work out. And it will only become more challenging due the AI impact. Look deep into the mirror first, Do some soul searching and ask a couple of people around you (who will tell you the truth) if they think this is a field of work for you?
This column is written based on 30 years of deep industry experience, forward looking imagination and?without?any help of Artificial Intelligence!
Paul Donkers is also the creator of the?Ikigai Coaching Institute. Together with?their?Global Community?of Licensed ikigai Coaches, touching at least 100.000 people to enable them to unlock their Ikigai (their daily purpose).
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6 个月I recently tried Replika as an AI coach. You can design a person by looks and character, and it felt remarkably humanlike. The combination of VR and AI might make it feel even more humanlike in the future. However, it will never be human, and a computer will never be able to fully replace it. Team coaching, due to its interpersonal complexity, is less likely to be fully replaced by AI, but I am not certain about it. I think it's similar to the early days of the internet when we couldn't foresee its impact, and there was a lot of speculation. Due to the exponential nature of AI, it is now even harder to predict. What if (or should I say When) AI becomes 10,000 x smarter than a human, create new technology by itself, and generates energy? How will we relate to it when we are not the smartest species? Will we have brain-computer interfaces and merge with it? Can limiting beliefs be reprogrammed? Is this a good thing? Will this reduce painful feelings, and what will it do to humans if these feelings are reduced? How will this influence us? Will big tech take over the coaching industry? These are all questions I ask myself because I need to relate to it and get the best out of it for my clients, my colleagues, and myself.