AI Coaching vs. Human Coaching: Which Is Better for Executive Function Support?

To chat or to AI chat?

The speed, the breadth the convenience. Interacting with Chat GPT or similar tools can be truly remarkable. I have cooked a meal it suggested, I’m constantly checking my labrador can safely eat what she had just swallowed, I’ve been supplied letter templates - you get the gist. Increasingly, I’m using it as a search engine.  I also, like many others, chat to Chat. I have found it reassuring; always promising to be there for me and inviting me to reach out if I need any further support.

Recently, as an Executive Function Coach, I have started to wonder are my services going to become defunct….

So, because I can, I asked Chat - “Human coach or you, which is best?”.

Here’s the low down -

Human Executive Function Coach

What we have going for us:

• A human/personal connection – actually eyeballing another human being - empathy and building a relationship and trust.

• Body language - people say so much more than the words they use. Their body language and mannerisms can all be observed, noted and interpreted by the human coach. Something AI can’t do currently – well not my version of Chat.

• Making links with learning and experience – many coaches have years of relevant experiences and qualifications which are constantly drawn upon.

• Accountability – having a human involved keeps you honest and on track - there’s no switching the computer off. If you have committed to a goal with your human coach, you are accountable – back to the eyeballing!

• Neurodivergence support - coaches often work closely with neurodivergent clients, tailoring strategies to ADHD, autism and other profiles in ways AI currently cannot personalise effectively.

• Legal responsibilities for handling client data - Coaches must register with the ICO, get client consent, provide a privacy policy, and keep data safe under UK GDPR.

What are our limitations

• Cost – it’s a considered investment.

• Availability – Sometimes your coach’s availability doesn’t match yours.

AI coach

What our tech friend has going for itself:

• Availability – It’s there in your phone or laptop whenever and wherever you need it.

• Free - open source limited free availability across most AI platforms.

• Speed – answers appear immediately be it text or resources.

What’s against it?

• Accountability – although it can set reminders these can be easily turned off.

• Lacks empathy and has limited connection - due to the nature of AI and  limited emotional intelligence.  As discussed by Dr Roman Raczka President, British Psychological Society.

• Body language – it can’t pick up non-verbal signals, only reacting to the words we enter.

• Privacy– while AI tools like ChatGPT don’t share your private thoughts and mumblings with other users, your chats may be stored and used to improve the model - unless you opt out. Even then, your potentially sensitive conversations could be retained temporarily for safety and system monitoring.

So, do I need to cash in my pension?

No. Executive Function coaching operates at its best level when coach and client are in a place of trust, connection and collaboration.  However, I believe that AI can enhance our offering rather than replace it. The mix of human relationships, empathy and intuition makes executive function coaching a transformational journey which is impossible to bottle using AI.

What is Executive Functioning?

According to Connections in Mind, executive functioning is:

An umbrella term to describe a set of cognitive processes that enable people to filter distractions, prioritise tasks, set and achieve goals and control impulses.

In a nutshell it’s our brain’s toolkit for staying organised, focussed and in control If you would like to know more about how executive function coaching could support you or someone in your life – get in touch. Human to human.