This article explores the evolving relationship between AI and coaching, highlighting why the human touch remains irreplaceable – especially as we navigate an era of remote work, mass lay-offs, and rising solopreneurship.
The AI Revolution in Coaching: What’s Changing?
The coaching industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation. In 2025, AI-powered platforms are not science fiction – they’re business as usual. AI now handles everything from progress tracking and psychometric analysis to providing real-time feedback and even recommending next steps for clients. 1 This shift has enabled:
- Hyper-personalisation: AI analyses your habits, emotional triggers, and learning style to tailor coaching strategies specifically for you. 1, 5
- 24/7 support: AI-driven “virtual mentors” and chatbots are available around the clock, offering on-demand advice and nudges. 3
- Scalability: Coaches can now serve clients globally, breaking down geographical barriers and making coaching more accessible than ever. 1
A recent study found that professionals using AI coaching tools were three times more likely to achieve their goals than those relying solely on human coaching.5 As a result, the global coaching market is projected to reach $7.3 billion in 2025, with AI-driven services leading the charge. 5
Coaching vs. Mentoring: Why This Distinction Matters
Before delving deeper, it’s important to clarify the difference between coaching and mentoring – terms often used interchangeably, yet fundamentally distinct:
| Aspect | Coaching | Mentoring |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Specific skills, performance, and measurable outcomes | Long-term career development and personal growth |
| Approach | Facilitates self-discovery, asks powerful questions | Shares personal experience and advice |
| Structure | Formal, structured, often paid | Informal, relationship-based, often unpaid |
| Scope | Tailored to immediate business needs and transformation | Broader, holistic, outside the organisation’s scope |
Coaching is about unlocking your potential and catalysing change through presence, challenge, and accountability. Mentoring is about sharing wisdom and supporting your long-term journey. Both are valuable, but as AI automates information delivery and advice, the unique value of coaching – especially the human presence – becomes ever more apparent.
For a detailed article on the difference between coaching v mentoring click here.
The Human Edge: Presence, Connection, and Companionship
“AI isn’t replacing coaches (thank goodness). But it is transforming the way coaching is delivered. In 2025, AI will be a powerhouse behind the scenes… while you focus on the real magic: connection, strategy, and impact.”
— Jaye Lee, LinkedIn 1
1. Presence: The Power of Being Fully Seen and Heard
At the heart of effective coaching lies a level of presence that no AI can simulate. A great coach creates a space where you are fully seen, heard, and understood – not just as a set of data points, but as a whole human being. This presence is felt in the subtle cues: the attentive silence, the gentle challenge, the shared laughter, and the moments of vulnerability.
AI can process language and even mimic empathy, but it cannot feel with you. It cannot sense when your voice trembles with uncertainty, nor can it offer a reassuring pause or a knowing glance. As teams fragment and remote work becomes the norm, this human presence becomes a lifeline – especially for founders and solopreneurs facing the isolation of building something new.
“A big part of the future will involve AI handling more of the transactional aspects of coaching… This frees up coaches to focus on more complex, high-value interactions.”
– Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future 6
2. The Coach as Human-to-Human Friend and Travel Companion
The entrepreneurial journey is often lonely. As AI drives mass lay-offs and the corporate world fragments, more people are striking out on their own. The result? A surge in solopreneurship, but also a rise in loneliness and self-doubt.
A coach is not just an accountability partner – they are a human travel companion. They walk beside you, celebrate your wins, and hold space for your fears. They challenge you to grow, not just as a business leader, but as a person. This companionship – rooted in empathy, trust, and shared humanity – is something AI cannot replicate.
“Coaching is about transformation, and transformation is personal. If you’re not meeting them where they are, you’ll miss out. Period.”
— Jaye Lee, LinkedIn 1
3. Human Connection in an Age of Fragmentation
Remote work and digital collaboration tools have made it easier to connect, but harder to feel connected. The paradox of modern entrepreneurship is that you can be constantly “online” and yet profoundly alone. Coaches who prioritise presence, connection, and genuine care are becoming more relevant than ever.
Recent statistics show that online coaching customers report an 87% satisfaction rate and a 74% retention rate, largely because of the flexibility and accessibility digital coaching provides. 2 However, the most successful coaching relationships are those that blend digital convenience with deep human connection.
Where AI Excels—and Where It Falls Short
What AI Does Best
- Data analysis: AI can track your progress, flag patterns, and provide data-driven insights at scale 1, 5
- Personalisation: AI adapts to your learning style and needs, offering tailored advice 24/7. 3
- Accountability: Automated reminders and nudges help you stay on track, even between sessions. 5
- Accessibility: AI-powered coaching makes support available to anyone with an internet connection, democratising access to professional growth. 2
What Only Humans Can Do
- Sense and respond to emotion: AI can detect sentiment in text or speech, but it cannot truly empathise or respond to the unspoken.
- Hold space for vulnerability: The safety to explore fears, doubts, and dreams is built on trust and presence – qualities that require a human touch.
- Co-create meaning: Business is not just about KPIs and milestones; it’s about purpose, values, and legacy. These conversations require depth, intuition, and shared humanity.
- Be a true companion: When the path is unclear, a coach’s willingness to walk beside you – without judgement or agenda—is priceless.
The Hybrid Future: AI and Coaching in Partnership
The most exciting trend in AI and coaching is not replacement, but collaboration. Hybrid coaching models are emerging, where AI-powered tools handle the transactional aspects – progress tracking, scheduling, initial assessments – while human coaches focus on high-value, transformational work. 5
“Talwar envisions a future where clients have access to a digital coach that works alongside their human coach.”
— Odgers Berndtson 5
This partnership allows coaches to scale their impact, offer more personalised support, and spend more time on what truly matters: presence, connection, and transformation.
How Coaches Can Stay Relevant—and Invaluable
For coaches to remain highly valuable in the age of AI, continuous evolution is essential:
- Embrace technology: Use AI tools for data analysis, progress tracking, and personalisation, freeing yourself to focus on deeper work. 1
- Deepen human skills: Invest in emotional intelligence, intuition, and the ability to hold space for complex, nuanced conversations.
- Prioritise presence: Make every session a sanctuary of attention and empathy – a space where clients feel truly seen and supported.
- Become a travel companion: Position yourself as more than an advisor; be a friend, confidant, and co-creator on your client’s journey.
- Focus on strategic impact: Help clients navigate not just business challenges, but also the emotional and existential questions that arise in times of change.
The Road Ahead: Human Connection as Competitive Advantage
As AI continues to advance, the temptation will be to automate everything. But in a world of endless automation, human connection becomes the ultimate differentiator. For founders and solopreneurs, the journey is as much about personal growth as it is about business success. The best coaches will be those who harness the power of AI while doubling down on what makes us uniquely human.
“If AI is the engine of modern learning, coaching skills are still the steering wheel. … The future belongs to those who can learn, unlearn and relearn. Coaching skills build exactly that kind of capacity.”
— Shift eLearning 3
In the age of AI and coaching, the future is not about choosing one over the other. It’s about embracing both – using AI to enhance efficiency and insight, while preserving the irreplaceable value of human presence, empathy, and companionship.
So as you build your business, remember: the right coach won’t just keep you accountable – they’ll walk beside you, every step of the way, as you create your own path in a rapidly changing world.
References:
[1] LinkedIn: The Future of Coaching: Trends to Watch in 2025
[2] The Rise of AI-Powered Coaching: How Technology is Revolutionizing Personal Growth in 2025
[3] Shift eLearning: AI and the Future of Workplace Training
[4] Luisa Zhou: Top Coaching Trends in 2025
[5] Odgers Berndtson: The Future of Coaching: How Generative AI is Transforming Systemic and Executive Coaching
