Exploring coaches’ experiences of AI-assisted reflective practice

Reflective practice is widely recognised as a core competency in coaching, yet many practitioners struggle to engage consistently due to time pressure, limited structure, and challenges in moving beyond descriptive reflection. Emerging technologies may help address these barriers, but little empirical evidence exists on whether AI-assisted scaffolding enhances or hinders coaches’ reflective practice. To address this gap, this qualitative study examined professional coaches’ experiences of using ChatGPT to support post-session reflection. A volunteer convenience sample of twelve professional coaches completed three AI-assisted reflection dialogues with ChatGPT over one week. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes were generated: (1) The Reality of Reflective Practice; (2) Framing AI: Expectations, Attitudes, and Relational Aspects; and (3) Experience of Using ChatGPT as a Reflective Tool. Many participants reported gaining fresh perspectives and engaging in deeper reflection, while others experienced constraints related to response pace or length. Participants varied in their use of structured reflective frameworks, with some preferring a more flexible approach. While generalisability is limited by the qualitative design, the findings provide novel empirical insight into how AI-assisted reflective practice may complement traditional methods and support ongoing reflective development in coaching contexts.