This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 10, 2023 - July 16, 2023

While career coaching has gained increased recognition in Malaysia, there remains a considerable journey ahead to fully embrace its potential.

According to a survey conducted by recruitment agency Randstad, an overwhelming 97% of respondents expressed interest in learning and development opportunities, yet only 36% reported receiving adequate training and development support. The rapid transformation of businesses, the scarcity of skills, and the ever-evolving talent landscape have compelled employers to prioritise upskilling initiatives and bolster resources for employee career advancement. As a result, the demand for career-coaching services has witnessed a notable upswing in the market.

In today’s fiercely competitive job market, career coaches play a pivotal role by offering personalised guidance to individuals who may be facing career stagnation, navigating challenging transitions or pursuing leadership development.

These professionals provide invaluable support, enabling clients to make informed decisions and excel in their respective fields. However, the coaching landscape is also undergoing a transformation with the introduction of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) technology. This notable stride forward has given rise to the emergence of AIMY, a cutting-edge conversational AI career coach by CoachHub, a digital coaching provider that prides itself on offering holistic people development on an international scale.

“We built AIMY, the first conversational AI career coach, as a prototype for research purposes. It is free of charge and anyone can use it anywhere. It is a non-commercial pilot created with the intent to democratise coaching for people at any stage of their career,” says Tim MacCartney, senior vice-president for Asia-Pacific at CoachHub.

Powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, AIMY utilises generative AI, which enables the program to comprehend user queries and tailor responses, offering personalised career advice. AIMY processes data in the form of text or voice inputs, and by harnessing conversational AI technology, it bridges gaps in coaching services for those who previously could not afford it. Using the program simply begins with AIMY asking for the user’s name and profession. Subsequently, the information you input guides the AI career coach in advising you on your needs.

“Currently, AIMY is able to conduct simple, prompted coaching conversations with guidance and can recognise language and context. She understands written communication and idiomatic expressions,” says MacCartney.

“We have also integrated state-of-the-art speech recognition algorithms, a dynamic context builder, large language modelling (LLM) and more. These technologies work together seamlessly in real time to deliver a powerful, engaging and effective experience,” he adds.

AIMY’s non-judgemental and confidential approach fosters open discussions about career aspirations and challenges. With continuous learning and up-to-date industry insights, AIMY is a game-changer in career guidance as it empowers individuals to make well-informed decisions and achieve their professional aspirations.

At the present time, AIMY is a perfect example of boundary-pushing innovation that makes career coaching — something often unaffordable for many — easily accessible. After all, the tool is free to use at the moment and could serve as a means to shake up the career-coaching industry, thanks to its unparalleled scalability and cost-effectiveness.

“This will enable more people to try coaching as it becomes more accessible and a part of people’s everyday lives through their devices 24/7 for a hybrid, mobile and diverse workforce,” says MacCartney.

Additionally, AI-driven coaching can also become an accepted practice in organisational change management, enabling effective handling of mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and adapting to new ways of working. By addressing resistance to change at a personalised level and scaling it throughout the organisation, coaching becomes the norm for agility and survival in a constantly evolving world. AI plays a crucial role in fuelling the adoption of coaching at scale.

AI’s unbeatable data memory and machine-learning capabilities continuously improve and grow alongside individuals on their personal and professional development journeys. “At Coachhub, we collect data and are able to give your organisation feedback on systematic bottlenecks and blind spots, including global benchmarking on coachee engagement through the CoachHub Insights analytics dashboard,” says MacCartney.

CoachHub’s list of 1,000 global clients includes names like World Vision, B Braun, Sodexo, Schneider Electric and Coca-Cola.

There may be a lot of panic across various industries with the rise of AI and its slowly spreading use, but CoachHub is adamant that AI will never replace a human coach.

Artificial intelligence is merely a complementary tool to aid and boost the coaching process, asserts MacCartney.

At this point in time, AIMY is able to “conduct simple, prompted coaching conversations with guidance and is intended to transmit the benefits of coaching to those who haven’t experienced it before”, he explains.

“AIMY also doesn’t understand visual communication and facial expressions. Its development is supported by our R&D team that continues to work on enhancing different aspects,” he says, adding that “AIMY is purely a research initiative, designed to encourage scientific conversations around AI in coaching and responsibilities for the industry.”

It is also important to remember that AIMY is still a work in progress. The program is still learning to understand complex, structured coaching conversations as well as profound coaching principles and frameworks.

Despite its reliance on ChatGPT’s still-developing technology, AIMY uses CoachHub’s coaching framework, which ensures that every coaching session is tailored to the needs of each individual.

“By building upon the company’s vast coaching experience and insights from behavioural scientists, our virtual coach is broadly designed to guide users on their journey to personal and professional growth,” MacCartney says.

In some ways, AIMY does apply the same principles as a human career coach.

Typically, those who choose to speak to AIMY may have specific issues they are looking to tackle, and as they go through the data input process, AIMY “aims to encourage you to think and reflect while responding to your ask,” MacCartney adds. In this way, AI coaching can help professionals with self-reflection, develop competencies useful for their profession and drive better work-life balance.

It’s also possible to unlock the power of accountability in AI career coaching as AIMY employs a range of metrics to assess effectiveness. By tracking key indicators such as session frequency and duration, AIMY modernises the way in which we measure success. With this innovative approach, individuals can confidently navigate their career journeys, knowing that their progress is actively monitored and guided.

It is important to note that AIMY is equipped to deliver tailored solutions to each individual at a basic level as the AI is tuned to ask subsequent questions and suggest solutions accordingly. Thus, this may not necessarily be enough for individuals or companies looking for more in-depth solutions and guidance. This is where CoachHub’s certified business coaches can come in handy.

“If one requires deeper help, a human career coach is the best. We are convinced that AI exists to assist, support and enhance the human experience,” says MacCartney, adding that the brand’s pool of more than 3,500 business coaches can help make a bigger impact while helping employees elevate performance and mental well-being.

“We know that coaching is and will remain fundamentally human. It requires years of professional training and experience and a large degree of empathy and responsibility to become a successful digital business coach.”

Those with privacy concerns can breathe a little easier too as AIMY follows strict privacy regulations and coaching ethics. “We don’t record coaching sessions unless [they are] fully anonymised and with the clear, active consent of all parties involved,” stresses MacCartney.

CoachHub has established a strategic partnership with EMCC Global, a renowned professional membership body that establishes ethical guidelines and accreditation standards for the coaching industry. This alliance serves as a valuable checks and balances system through third-party verifications, ensuring credibility and excellence, particularly as AIMY works towards self-sufficiency in the future.

“Our behavioural scientists have participated in the project and, together with the machine-learning engineers, have conducted several tests to come up with the current version of AIMY. We’re enthusiastic about and committed to data security and protection. We deeply care about strict confidentiality and full compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws,” says MacCartney.

AIMY’s responses continually undergo enhancements driven by CoachHub’s dedicated research and development team. Working diligently behind the scenes, they explore innovative methods to enhance the quality of coaching advice that is delivered, MacCartney says.

Apart from the conversational AI career coach, CoachHub uses AI in diverse domains, including coach matching, content recommendations and predictive usage modelling. The transformative potential of AI holds the power to democratise coaching, making it accessible to all those in need, MacCartney adds.

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