AI For Coaches: 5 Essential Moves To Avoid Being Replaced

Forbes

15 hours ago

Clients want outcomes. That's why they get coaching. Even if they don't know exactly what outcome, they have an idea. They want to stop feeling confused or lost. They want to be more present and less disconnected, or move from short term thinking to long term thinking. They want to make more money, easier and faster, or have more time to spend with their family.
Coaches provide empathy, accountability and a sounding board, sure. But your friends can do that. Your dog can too. The coaches who survive 2025 and beyond are not the ones clinging to romanticised ideas of what a coaching relationship 'should' include. They are the ones figuring out how to get the best outcome for their clients, in the fastest and most effective way. Those in the know understand AI is coming for coaches. Here's what to do.
How to survive (and thrive) in the AI era as a coach: 5 essential components
If you have to be in front of your client to help them reach a transformation, your business is not sustainable. Either you'll burn out or they won't be able to afford it. Neither of you win. Most people don't need to be taught, they need to be reminded. They don't need brand new approaches, they need to take consistent action on the same ones.
To scale beyond your time as a top coach, make use of AI to create digital assets. Your unique genius, accessed by clients in multiple formats (including these 10). Create mini courses, newsletters, helpful guides. Everything you recommend, every framework you follow, every question you ask.
No, this is not going to replace your in-person sessions. But you'll be adding so much value around them, your clients will make progress like never before. Plus, you won't need to be on call and they get unlimited help. Create an ecosystem of upsells and downsells that scale. Start building.
You are not available at 11pm or 5am. But your clients want your thoughts on their challenge whenever it crosses their mind. Be omnipresent with clever use of AI. No deception, no trickery. Upload your signature content into an AI tool that replicates you and creates an AI coaching experience.
Once your client goes to ChatGPT for guidance, anything could happen. They get generic advice, questionable reframes and they go off track. But when they engage with the AI coach version of you, they hear a consistent message that keeps them going in between sessions.
Leverage AI coaching, based on your methods, so your clients make progress when you're asleep. Create this weekend with a specialist tool like Coachvox.
Plenty of coaches have figured out social media. They are posting regularly to win clients and have their message shared. Many aren't sharing unique messages, they're just shouting the loudest. And people are listening. Don't let less qualified coaches steal attention from you. Don't let them hook your clients. Show up on social media with the help of AI. You have everything you need in your current week.
If you're creating content from scratch, you're ignoring your ace cards. Coaches delivering sessions every single week don't need to do this. Your client calls contain every question you've asked, every reframe you've given, every breakthrough you've helped someone achieve. Use this information, with permission, of course.
First step: Take your (anonymised, unidentifiable) coaching call transcripts and turn them into posts that resonate with dream clients. Use ChatGPT, Claude, or your own AI. Get inside their heads and stay there. Grow on social media to attract inbound leads with people who just feel like you 'get' them.
Your clients expect you to use AI. Those that are switched-on to technology know that it can enhance your memory, understanding and analytical skills. It can spot patterns, read between the lines, and see things you might miss. AI isn't your competition, it's your companion.
Make use of GoogleLM, Claude Projects or OpenAIs GPTs to create client areas. Definitely (and this is important) remove identifying information. Consider using pseudonyms for each client. But don't overlook the valuable information you could gather from the words they say and the beliefs and fears they repeat.
Safely and securely (and with their permission) store session information where you can ask questions of it. Get your own AI coaching assistant. Be open to learning, help your clients achieve success.
You're not here to spend hours at your laptop, creating content and sending emails. Most of them are surplus to requirements. Not only can you automate your content creation, with simple automations (set up using Zapier and Make) that send data to an LLM and then to your document or social media platform of choice, but your scheduling communications can be automated too.
When someone books their session, have it trigger an email sequence that reminds them how to show up, what you discussed last session, and encourages them to engage with your AI. Your job is to turn up and run the session. Use your superpowers. Be your awesome coach self, not your own marketing assistant.
Stop doing tasks a robot could do. Instead, give them to a robot. Ask your VA to figure it out. Zap your way to success and free up your time. Automate the admin.
AI for coaches: protect your coaching business with AI
Your choice is simple. Become irreplaceable by combining your unique genius with AI. Secure outcomes for clients, faster and easier than ever before. Or lose out to AI, and other coaches that use it. Build digital assets that share your methods far and wide, then charge for implementation. Create the AI version of you as a lead magnet, or to add value to clients. Write social media content based on your transcripts, leverage AI-powered coaching for better results, and automate everything that doesn't need to be you. You'll be relieved you started today.