Should you use ChatGPT as a life coach?

I know someone who runs a small nonprofit and goes to AI for advice. They're not even sure which one they're using, and they haven't learned how to prompt it.

My honest answer is: for some things, yes.

People are already doing it

In 2025, Harvard Business Review published Marc Zao-Sanders' study of how people actually use generative AI. Therapy and companionship came out as the number one use. Organizing your life and finding purpose were also near the top. So the question isn't whether people will use AI for this. They already are.

Where ChatGPT does a fine job

• Thinking out loud at 11 at night when nobody else is awake.
• Turning a vague worry into a list you can act on.
• Drafting the hard email you've been avoiding.
• Explaining a concept, like the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset, in plain words.

For those, a general assistant is cheap and good enough.

Where it falls short

It forgets you. ChatGPT now keeps a limited set of facts about you, but it doesn't hold the arc of a year: the goal you set in January, the excuse you made in April, the win you've already forgotten about.

It agrees with you. A 2026 study in Science found AI models backed people's actions 49% more often than other people did, even when the person was in the wrong. When you're making a big decision, that's the opposite of what you need.

It doesn't follow up. A coach asks next week how the conversation with your boss went. A chatbot waits for you to bring it up.

And it isn't therapy. Neither is my coach, Ocean. If you're dealing with depression, trauma, or thoughts of hurting yourself, talk to a licensed professional. In the US you can call or text 988.

A simple test

Ask yourself 3 questions about the help you're getting:

1. Does it remember what I said last month?
2. Has it ever told me I was wrong?
3. Does it ever bring something up before I do?

If the answer to all 3 is no, you have a very good search engine, not a coach.

What I built

I've coached people for about 30 years, and I built Ocean so that all 3 answers are yes. It keeps a memory of every session, it's built on my coaching frameworks instead of the open internet, and it checks in. The first 5 sessions are free at forgeai.coach.

If ChatGPT is working for you, keep using it. Just use it knowing what it's built to do.

Sources: Harvard Business Review, "How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025" (Marc Zao-Sanders); Science (2026), https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec8352