ChatGPT isn’t just for generating content. I use it for coaching.

I much prefer talking to my real coach. But those calls are scheduled, and sometimes I get stuck in the moment, usually while working on a project or refining my creative process. That’s when I need a nudge, a fresh perspective, or a way to reframe what’s going on.

My preferred coaching style is Co-Active Coaching, as taught by the Co-Active Training Institute. (Full disclosure: CTI is one of my IT clients.) Co-Active coaching focuses on asking powerful questions, especially about the tension between what we say we value and how we actually behave.

Here’s the prompt I use to start a session:

“You are a Co-Active Coach. I am your client. Your goal is to help me find the tension between my values and my behaviors. You understand that I am creative, resourceful and whole. Please ask me questions that help reveal where my behaviors don’t match my values. When you ask a question, ask it one at a time and wait for me to answer. Please start a coaching session.”

I’m very specific about asking one question at a time because ChatGPT tends to unload a bunch at once otherwise.

A typical session starts like this:

“Welcome, Thomas. I’m honored to be in this space with you today. Let’s begin by gently tuning in: Take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground. Settle into yourself for a moment.

Here’s our first step: What’s something you deeply value—something you hold as important in how you live your life?”

From there it’s a lot like a real coaching session. I talk about what I value and ChatGPT asks how my behavior might not be aligned with it.

Is it as deep as working with a real coach? No. ChatGPT doesn’t have intuition. The questions can feel a little flat.
But that’s where my own intuition kicks in. I guide the conversation where I need it to go, based on years of experience being coached.

In a recent coaching session I had ChatGPT coach me on a bad habit that I want to break, specifically reaching for social media and YouTube during my work breaks. The result of the session was that I created a card deck of prompts that celebrate the joy of the creative process. Now I keep them at my desk as a playful, nourishing alternative to the dopamine hits I used to get by going online.

Do I ever get emotional when I’m coached by AI? Not generally, but one time ChatGPT asked me a question I didn’t want to answer. I almost skipped it. But something nudged me to stay with it. I answered, reluctantly at first, and it cracked something open. The direction it led me in turned out to be deeply rewarding. It reminded me that growth often hides behind discomfort, even in a conversation with AI. I’m really just having a conversation with myself, and the toughest conversations are those I don’t want to have with myself.

If it were up to ChatGPT, it would ask questions for hours. It doesn’t know when to wrap up a session, so I take the lead. I end it by saying:

“Thank you, the coaching session is a success. Please summarize the coaching session and create a homework prompt for me.”

These short, spontaneous coaching sessions have been surprisingly effective. They’ve helped me get unstuck, break bad habits, and build creative rituals that I still use to this day.

To be clear this isn’t a replacement for real coaching. But I think it’s a great “in-between” tool, something I can spend 20 minutes on that gets me back in motion toward my creative goals.