Is AI a good tool for career change? The uncomfortable truth

Many of us are dabbling in some kind of relationship with AI. Personally, I have seen a huge change in how it is impacting the coaching space.

Has it changed how I work? Honestly, no, but I do get a real sense of its value, especially when I coach clients who are using it as a tool to think things through. By that I mean help to organise thoughts, look at options, process logically and methodically. And let’s face facts, it’s fast and always available!

Like a coach, AI isn’t there to judge. Unlike a coach, however, it can only work with what you give it. So it will mirror back clearly (often brilliantly), but it won’t challenge what’s going on under the surface, what you are skirting around, where your language is carefully managed. That gap between what you say and what you want.

It won’t sit in silence when something lands. It won’t hold tension or interrupt a well-rehearsed narrative. And whilst that might sound like a nice thing, in reality, it’s the difference between knowledge and change. And this is the bit that matters.

Real change isn’t just cognitive; it involves discomfort, spotting contradictions and knowing when to call them out. As brilliant as AI is, it can’t fully hold that process. 

Why human connection still matters

Live one-to-one career coaching isn’t just about better answers; it’s about contact and feeling truly seen and heard. A good coach listens for what’s not being said. They notice shifts in tone, hesitation, and energy. They ask the question you didn’t know to ask (or just didn’t want to).

A good coach provokes a challenge, helps you understand what actually matters. Gives you space to think without performing, and here’s the big difference: a coach will hold you accountable as you move from thinking to action. 

If you are using AI to support your career journey, consider this: are you just getting clearer, or are you actually making confident moves? They are not the same thing. 

A deeper approach to career exploration

If you buy into the idea that confident career moves come from deep engagement with the self, not just overactive thinking, it might be useful to look a little closer at the support tools your coach uses.

In my practice, I use a process known as The Collage Coaching Technique™ (CCT). The CCT is a three-stage process that uses imagery and play to connect with the unconscious brain and trigger a deeper, more honest relationship with what motivates and what doesn’t, something super-critical to career moves. And unlike words, which are easy to manipulate to sound ‘right’, images are disconcerting and disruptive, and their meanings are unique to each of us. Hold that thought.

CCT can be an incredibly expedient way to override unhelpful narratives that can easily form over time, particularly around your role in the workplace, with feelings like "I’m not smart enough", "I don’t know enough", or "People like me don’t make these kinds of transitions". And because CCT connects with intuition, it can flag up misalignment between what you think is a motivation towards, say, promotion, but in reality flags a totally different path. 

Putting AI to the test 

I was curious to put it to the test, so I gave it a very simple task. I gave it a collage I had personally curated with a clear prompt to generate a set of questions about it that aligned with my coaching style.

The results were predictably very smart, but many dangerously leading. For example, I had quite a few images of room spaces, which AI interpreted as home. I also had a lot of light in my imagery, which AI made the leap to suggesting it was something I craved. Not only were these assumptions wrong, but potential blockers to a deeper conversation. Key takeaways. Good coaches aren’t there to make themselves look smart. And they certainly aren’t there to voice assumptions. Your white room is not my white room.

My point is this. Don’t ditch AI, but equally stay healthily aware of its overly helpful drive towards a quick win. If you are genuinely interested in getting beneath the surface of what is driving your career and don’t mind dealing with a little human discomfort in the process, consider coaching.