Why an AI Can't Actually Coach You

An algorithm cannot coach you because it doesn't care about you.

Like I'm sure many of you have, I've been getting emails and ads for a while now offering runners an 'AI Coach,' and while they don't always directly claim to replace real coaching, the implication is there.

The fact is, these tools are misrepresenting what they do and what coaching actually is. Even ChatGPT says "Let's be clear—that's not what coaching is."

Note: Out of curiosity, and perhaps a sense of irony, since this article is about AI, I got some AI input on some of the more technical details about how these systems likely work. Like with all AI information, this could be wrong... but wouldn't that kind of prove the point?

Note: In this article, I touch on the higher-level reasons these AI 'coaches' aren't actually coaching, but I encourage you to visit some of the linked articles for a deeper dive on why pre-determined training isn't effective, which common data metrics are inaccurate, and more.

I would also encourage you to take a dive into the real state of AI—the fact is, we may very shortly lose control of the impact AI is having on society.

How These AI 'Coaching' Tools (Likely) Work

These systems don't coach in any real sense—they're just algorithms that adjust a pre-written plan based on incoming data. They keep track of many of the same metrics that we know are inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant and then use them to tweak future workouts in an already-written plan. So it's using false or meaningless data to represent an entire human being, and then adjusting a plan that almost surely wasn't ideal in the first place.

According to ChatGPT, "most use regression models, decision trees, or pattern-matching to detect when an athlete is trending faster, slower, or more fatigued than expected." The advice they're giving you is from probability and correlation, not a deep understanding of the science and holistic details about you.

It's also worth noting that AI in general pulls from all the information available without differentiating between good and bad, or what worked and what didn't. It's a glorified predictive-text tool. Whether these AI 'coaches' work that way or with a more structured algorithm is unknown.

The Illusion of Personalization

AI coaching systems love to use the word personalized, but what they actually are is parameterized. They pull a handful of numbers, like your recent training history, estimated fitness level, goal race distance and date, and plug them into a pre-built template. The workouts may then shift based on your pace or recovery metrics, but they’re still built from a tiny snapshot of who you are right now.

A real coach, by contrast, looks at your entire athletic story: the sports you played as a kid, the types of training you’ve done over the years, your injury patterns, your strengths and weaknesses, your current lifestyle, job stress, sleep habits, even how your body and mind tend to respond to different seasons. They know when a busy week at work will matter more than your HRV score, and when life outside running needs to take the lead.

That’s real personalization, not just an algorithm making small adjustments inside a small box.

How Real Coaching Works

Coaching isn’t about reacting to data, but about understanding people. A real coach reads between the lines: not just your pace or heart rate, but your subjective feedback, your motivation, your life outside the run. A real coach notices when stress from work is creeping into your training long before it affects the numbers, when fatigue is more emotional than physical, or when it’s time to celebrate that small breakthrough that doesn’t show up in the data.

A coach uses their education and experience to communicate and build a relationship that evolves with you over time. It’s not about chasing perfect metrics, but rather putting in consistent, structured work, and developing self-awareness, confidence, and resilience.

Real coaching is a dialogue, not a download. It’s human judgment, empathy, and trust guiding a long-term process of growth—something an algorithm can’t replicate, no matter how sophisticated it seems.

What AI Can't Do

• An AI system can track patterns, but it can't recognize people and interpret their unique histories.

• It can see that you missed a run, but not why.

• It can suggest you run slower, but not help you learn how, or ask how you're feeling about it.

• It might predict your next PR, but not sense when you're on the edge of a true breakthrough.

• It can (kind of) measure fatigue, but not understand why you're fatigued, when you're mentally burnt out, or when you're burning the candle at both ends and sacrificing other parts of your life just to get your runs in.

A coach can do all of these things, in a way that's not in-your-face, but is just another human being who cares.

The True Cost

While these tools are almost certainly a smaller financial commitment than hiring a real coach, there’s another layer that few people mention: the environmental impact. Every AI query, every data-driven adjustment, every “smart” recommendation depends on massive server networks running nonstop around the world.

Training and operating these systems consume enormous amounts of electricity and water for cooling. In some cases they're directly in your backyard, with no environmental protections to prevent health complications. This isn't a hypothetical future, but is happening right now.

I'm not trying to guilt-trip anyone for using technology, but it’s worth remembering that every time we outsource human thinking to a machine, there’s a cost beyond convenience. The kind of intuitive, context-driven judgment a real human makes in seconds requires untold computing power to merely approximate.

Coaching conversations and decisions don’t burn gigawatts of energy.

A human coach doesn’t need a data center, just curiosity, compassion, and a little time to listen.

It's worth noting, when you pay for an AI algorithm, you're directly lining the pockets of people who will never invest that money back in their communities. When you hire a human coach, you're supporting a fellow human and their family, and most of that money goes directly into their community, whether that's rent and groceries, sponsoring races, paying for their kid's violin lessons, etc.

Beyond the environmental and financial costs, there are human ones too. There have already been documented cases where AI systems caused real harm, including chatbots that convinced vulnerable users to take their own lives. When a system can mimic empathy without understanding it, the results can be unpredictable and tragic.

If you ever feel hopeless or in crisis, please reach out for help. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day.

What It Might Be Good For

I'm not going to suggest that AI will never have a place in running and training. Today, existing AI tools can already help in practical, behind-the-scenes ways — proofreading content, organizing ideas, helping humans brainstorm, researching, summarizing, and repurposing previously-written content. Used thoughtfully, AI can handle some of the more mechanical work so that humans can focus on creativity, connection, and problem-solving.

As it evolves, AI may help make training logs and data more effective tools for both athletes and coaches—not by pretending to be a coach, but by supporting one. The most useful systems will likely focus on analysis and pattern detection: crunching large datasets, flagging trends a human coach might otherwise miss, like subtle fatigue patterns, consistent pacing drift, or sleep deficits. They can automate tedious tracking, visualize progress, and highlight metrics that have actually proven to be meaningful. The key difference is that these tools stop at observation and organization. The decision-making—interpreting those trends within the athlete’s real-world context—still belongs to a human being.

For coaches, AI might serve as an assistant of sorts: a tool for gathering information, rather than interpreting it. Or perhaps it'll one day be used to automate some of the more 'business' side of coaching. Used responsibly, maybe it will free up time for the parts of coaching that truly matter: the human conversations, the problem-solving, the emotional check-ins, and the shared victories.

Technology is at its best when it amplifies human connection rather than when it tries to replace it.

The Role of Trust

Coaching only works when there’s trust—the kind that lets an athlete be honest about fear, fatigue, pain, or failure without judgment. That trust builds over time, through real conversations, shared setbacks, and earned confidence. AI can track your numbers, but it can’t earn your trust.

When a coach tells you to rest, you trust them because they know and care about you. When an algorithm says it, you question it—or worse, ignore it. The best results come not from perfect plans, but from athletes who feel safe enough to be honest and guided by someone who genuinely cares.

That relationship is the foundation of every successful coaching process.

Why It Matters

At first glance, it might seem like splitting hairs—who cares if the 'coach' is human, as long as the workouts make sense, right? But that’s yet another problem: coaching isn’t even just about workouts. It’s about guidance, accountability, perspective, and helping you navigate the unpredictable parts of life and training.

When you reduce coaching to data, you reduce athletes to data. You miss the nuance—the small adjustments that prevent injuries and boost adaptations, the conversations that rebuild confidence, the shared decisions that help you grow. You lose the trust, the support, and the partnership that make this whole process sustainable and meaningful.

AI can create structure, but it can’t build connection. And without that connection, training becomes just another task rather than the journey of becoming a stronger, faster and more fulfilled version of yourself.

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I'm not an AI, just a simple human running coach. I can't micro-analyze the data from every run you do. But I can listen, and I can care. If you want to be more than a number, I'd love to hear your story.

Learn more here!