Trial reportPloS one2022
Comparing artificial intelligence and human coaching goal attainment efficacy.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Review article: Coaching in emergency medicine: A systematic review and future research agenda.Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA · 2025Pooled it
- AI feedback and workplace social support in enhancing occupational self-efficacy: a randomized controlled trial in Japan.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- ENHANCE (Tailored Intervention for Brain Health and Cognitive Enrichment for Cognitive Health), a Coach-Supported Digital Intervention for Dementia Prevention in Underserved Older Adults: Co-Design and Usability Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Shaping the Future of Men's Health: How AI Could Be a Transformative Tool for Better Patient Outcomes and Provider Efficiency.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Wearable Biosensing and Machine Learning for Data-Driven Training and Coaching Support.Biosensors · 2026Review
- AI in the Coach's Chair: How Professional Coaches Navigate Identity and Role Ambiguity in Response to AI Adoption by Their Coaching Firm.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Feasibility and User Experience of an AI-Supported mHealth Intervention for Remote Life Goal Setting Based on Flow Theory: Exploratory Within-Participant Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Building CAR-E: A Novel Artificial Intelligence Agent for Coaching Conversations.Perspectives on medical education · 2026Article
- Rethinking directiveness in AI coaching chatbots.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Article
- Comparative evaluation of ChatGPT versions in training program design: scientific approach, accuracy, and practical applicability.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Table tennis coaching system based on a multimodal large language model with a table tennis knowledge base.PloS one · 2025Article
- Characteristics and perceived suitability of artificial intelligence-driven sports coaches: a pilot study on psychological and perceptual factors.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Large language models can outperform humans in social situational judgments.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Roles, Users, Benefits, and Limitations of Chatbots in Health Care: Rapid Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Review
- MultiSenseBadminton: Wearable Sensor-Based Biomechanical Dataset for Evaluation of Badminton Performance.Scientific data · 2024Article
- Enhancing surgical performance in cardiothoracic surgery with innovations from computer vision and artificial intelligence: a narrative review.Journal of cardiothoracic surgery · 2024Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The history of artificial intelligence (AI) is filled with hype and inflated expectations. Notwithstanding, AI is finding its way into numerous aspects of humanity including the fast-growing helping profession of coaching. Coaching has been shown to be efficacious in a variety of human development facets. The application of AI in a narrow, specific area of coaching has also been shown to work. What remains uncertain, is how the two compare. In this paper we compare two equivalent longitudinal randomised control trial studies that measured the increase in clients' goal attainment as a result of having received coaching over a 10-month period. The first study involved human coaches and the replication study used an AI chatbot coach. In both studies, human coaches and the AI coach were significantly more effective in helping clients reach their goals compared to the two control groups. Surprisingly however, the AI coach was as effective as human coaches at the end of the trials. We interpret this result using AI and goal theory and present three significant implications: AI coaching could be scaled to democratize coaching; AI coaching could grow the demand for human coaching; and AI could replace human coaches who use simplistic, model-based coaching approaches. At present, AI's lack of empathy and emotional intelligence make human coaches irreplicable. However, understanding the efficacy of AI coaching relative to human coaching may promote the focused use of AI, to the significant benefit of society.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.