High Touch in a High-Tech World: How Coaches Stay Essential in the Age of AI

lpachence
Jan 5
4 min read

Don’t “Crash Into Christmas”: How You End the Year Is How You Begin the Next

A new year always invites new starts, but this one carries a particular charge.

We are standing at a crossroads in the coaching industry (and frankly, in leadership as a whole). Technology is accelerating at a pace we’ve never seen before. AI is writing, synthesizing, automating, predicting, and optimizing. Efficiency is everywhere. Speed is rewarded. Outputs are multiplied.

And yet…

Human beings are more disconnected, overwhelmed, and hungry for meaning than ever.

Which brings me to a conviction I feel deeply in my bones:

The future of coaching is not more high-tech.It’s radically, intentionally high-touch.

High Tech Is Everywhere. High Touch Is Rare.

AI is doing things we never thought possible. It can summarize conversations, generate insights, and offer frameworks at lightning speed. What it cannot do, at least not in any meaningful way, is transform a human being.

Transformation requires a person or container that invites:

Presence
Trust
Relationship
Safety
Courage
Creativity
Nuance
Stamina (time!!)
And a willingness to sit in the unknown until answers emerge

AI can deliver information.

Transactional coaches can produce change. Masterful coaches facilitate growth.

And these are not the same thing.

How to AI-Proof Yourself as a Coach

Here’s my hot take: the goal is not to compete with AI on efficiency. You will lose that race every time.

The goal is to be irreplicable.

Yes, use AI to eliminate functions of your business that remove you from your most important human work (social media, organization, reminders, calendaring). BUT, spend 80% of your time on fine-tuning your artistry and mastery.

In my personal experience, considering where the coaching industry is headed, there are 5 ways to walk this path:

1. Go Deeper, Not Faster

AI thrives on speed. Mastery thrives on depth.

As the saying amongst Navy SEALS goes, “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”. You cannot access the depth required for transformation unless you slow thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and conversations way down to notice what happens in and between them.

The coaches who will endure, and flourish, are those who:

Use presence, genuine curiosity, and active listening in a real way
slow conversations down enough for truth to emerge that develops new thinking.
know how to work with what’s unsaid.
help clients uncover patterns, identity, values, and meaning beneath the surface-level problem.

Depth is not scalable. And that’s exactly why it matters.

Bottom line? Sloooooow doooooowwwwwwn.

2. Become Exceptional at Transformation (on yourself, especially!)

Information is everywhere (just go to ChatGPT). Insight is cheap (just ask reddit or youtube).

Transformation, however, is rare (just ask those who have walked the path).

Great coaches don’t just help clients do more, they help clients become different. More self-aware. More grounded. More aligned. More courageous. More integrated.

That level of work requires:

Mastery of the craft
Ongoing inner work
A willingness to face your own edges
And the humility to keep learning

You cannot coach to transformation if you are unwilling to be transformed yourself.

3. Lead as an Authentic Artist

Masterful coaching is not formulaic (though there IS a framework - hello core competencies!). It is not mechanical. And it is not something that can be templated into excellence.

It is an art form that spotlights:

Your curiosity.
Your presence.
Your intuition.
Your emotional bandwidth.
Your way of making meaning.

AI can generate the average of what already exists. Art creates what has never existed before.

The coaches who matter most are not trying to sound like everyone else. They are refining their way of being in conversation, honoring their uniqueness while grounding themselves in mastery.

AND, they’re sharing that authentic message in sacred spaces, where connection reaches a level of depth and quality, instead of quantity.

4. Build Deep, Trusting, Irreplicable Relationships

The future belongs to coaches who know how to create trust at a cellular level.

Trust with clients.
Trust with colleagues.
Trust within community.
Trust with themselves.

Real trust is built over time through consistency, integrity, follow through, vulnerability, and presence without distraction.

In a world moving faster by the minute, relationship becomes the differentiator.

I’m not talking about networking or visibility hacks or personal branding hoopla, but real relationships… where people feel seen, challenged, supported, and held.

5. Choose Community Over Isolation

Coaching can be lonely. Mastery even more so.

The coaches who thrive long-term are not never walking this path alone. They are surrounded by peers who challenge them, reflect their values, and grow alongside them.

Community sharpens skill.
Community builds resilience.
Community grows confidence.
Community keeps us human and sane.

In an increasingly digital world, belonging becomes a form of leadership.

The Way Forward

If there is a single through-line I believe in as we enter this new year, it’s this:

Mastery, creativity, high touch, and community are not optional. They are the path forward.

Not just for coaches, but for leaders, entrepreneurs, and humans who want to remain relevant, fulfilled, and impactful in a world that will only continue to accelerate.

We don’t AI-proof ourselves by resisting technology. We AI-proof ourselves by becoming more human.