Last week, I shared a resource to help you support your clients using AI for interview prep.

But I want to be really clear about something.

AI can be useful.
It can be efficient.
It can even sound kind of impressive.

But it still can’t coach.

Because coaching is a human relationship.
It’s presence.
It’s nuance.
It’s knowing when to pause instead of push.

And no matter how many tools our clients start experimenting with, they still need us.

Sometimes more than ever.

What AI Can’t Do (Yet)

AI can draft a sample response.
It can generate a list of “top 20 interview questions.”
It can reword a STAR story.

But it can’t catch the shift in your client’s tone when they start talking about a role they think they want but don’t actually care about.

It can’t hear the hesitation between their words.
It can’t say, “You lit up just now, did you notice that?”
It can’t hold silence long enough for real insight to drop in.

AI is an assistant.

You are the witness, the mirror, the guide.

That’s not something you can prompt into existence.

Clients Don’t Just Need Better Answers.

They need better questions.

One of the most underappreciated values we offer as coaches is our ability to ask a single question that shifts everything.

“Why this company?”
“What do you really want to be known for?”
“What are you afraid will happen if you say that out loud?”

These are the kinds of questions that AI won’t ask — not because it’s incapable, but because it doesn’t know the client.

It doesn’t understand context.
It doesn’t feel energy.
It doesn’t build trust over time.

But you do.

You Are The Differentiation

Your clients can Google everything.

They can go straight to ChatGPT and ask it to write their résumé or role-play an interview.

But your relationship is what makes the difference.

It’s your attention.
Your ability to challenge with care.
To hold space when a client is frustrated or lost or questioning their own value.

Clients hire you because you see them, and because you help them think clearly in a world that moves fast and doesn’t stop to check how they’re doing.

I’m not here to knock the tools.

I think AI has a place in our work, when used thoughtfully.

But it’s not the work.

You are.

So if you’ve been feeling a little rattled or wondering where you fit in all of this, let this be a reminder:

You are not becoming obsolete.
You’re becoming more essential than ever before.

And if you’re committed to staying current, staying human, and raising the bar in this profession?

You’re exactly the kind of coach we need more of.

Keep going.

You’re doing work that changes lives.

Heather

🚀 Become a credentialed career professional by enrolling in my FCD COURSE