Who’s Coaching the Coach?

The science gap in AI-powered team development

AI has made coaching available to every manager, every day, at a fraction of the cost of traditional executive coaching. That is a breakthrough.

But accessibility alone is not enough and speed without substance can do more harm than good. As AI coaching tools flood the workplace, one question is going unanswered: what is the AI actually coaching from?

Most platforms draw on a general-purpose language model trained on the internet, optimised for agreeableness and untethered from any validated understanding of how people really work. This briefing draws on TMS Global research and current evidence from the ICF, Gallup, Gartner and the APA to examine what effective AI coaching requires, why independent bodies are already raising the alarm, and where to find a better foundation.

If your organisation is evaluating AI coaching, this is the evidence you need before you choose.