AI and Coaching

AI Won’t Replace Health & Wellness Coaches, but It Can Make Them—and Company Wellness Plans—More Efficient

In today’s rapidly evolving world, artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a part of nearly every conversation—including health and wellness coaching. Questions about the role and relationship of AI and coaching have been coming up more frequently, particularly as they pertain to how health coaching can integrate into a company wellness plan or a larger health-and-wellness benefits system. Many professionals in these fields have started to wonder: Could AI replace the role of the coach?

Here’s the short answer: No. And it shouldn’t.

The core of effective coaching isn’t just about sharing information or generating options. It’s about transformation—the kind that only happens through a trusting, human-centered relationship. AI may provide useful data or insights, but it lacks the empathy, presence, and deep listening that define the coaching experience.

That said, AI isn’t the enemy. AI and coaching can be combined into a powerful partnership. AI presents a tool that, when used wisely, can enhance both the client’s journey and the coach’s impact. And this combination can yield better outcomes, leading to more impressive long-term results for wellness plans.

From Information to Transformation

AI excels at delivering transactional value: lists, summaries, ideas, and answers. But true coaching is about behavior change—meaningful, lasting transformation. That’s where the coach shines. The challenge and opportunity is this: if all coaches are doing is providing information, then AI can replace them. So coaches must raise their game and focus on the areas where they are irreplaceable: the human connection.

How Coaches Can Use AI to Amplify Client Growth

Here are a few practical ways AI can support and strengthen the coaching process without compromising the coach-client relationship:

1. Clarifying Focus and Generating Ideas

Let’s say a client wants to reduce stress but doesn’t know where to begin. A coach might guide them to explore options using AI:

Coach: Breathing exercises is a great place to start. Would you be open to seeing what AI suggests for practical strategies?

AI might provide various techniques, times to use them, and common obstacles. But the magic happens after the list—when the coach asks:

“What stands out to you? What makes this appealing? How could you see this working in your life?”

This is where change talk and personal insight emerge—through the coach, not the app.

2. Between-Session Exploration

Clients curious about new topics—like intermittent fasting or sleep hygiene—can use AI to find articles, podcasts, or videos that match their learning style. Then, during the next session, they bring insights to discuss, reflect, and personalize.

The coach helps move them from “I read this thing” to “Here’s how I might apply it, based on who I am.”

3. Identifying Patterns in Health Data

Clients can use AI tools to analyze trends in food intake, energy levels, or emotional eating by tracking meals, moods, or even photos. The AI can highlight patterns, but the coach helps the client interpret them in the context of their real life:

Why might lunch be consistently unsatisfying? What patterns do you see between your mood and food choices? What small change would feel realistic this week?

The Human Advantage: Empathy, Nuance, and Trust

AI doesn’t know when a client hesitates before answering. It can’t read tone, or gently challenge limiting beliefs, or celebrate subtle emotional wins. Coaches do that.

The trusted relationship between coach and client remains the heartbeat of growth. It’s the difference between reading about change and becoming someone who lives it.

Final Thought: Better Together

Instead of fearing AI, coaches can embrace AI as a thought partner, research assistant, or brainstorming engine. Let AI handle the surface work—while coaches dive deep with clients, guiding discovery, accountability, and transformation. In these ways, the growing relationship between AI and coaching has the potential to pay enormous dividends.

In the hands of a skilled coach, AI doesn’t replace the human experience—it elevates it.

(and yes – AI helped write this blog post along with a team of coaches).