“I use AI responsibly” sounds like a commitment. It isn’t one yet. Every coach who uses AI could say those words, and a client reading them learns nothing about what happens to their information or who is doing the thinking in their sessions.
An AI use statement for coaches does a different job. It names the tools you use, says plainly what you’ll never use them for and tells clients who stays accountable for the work. Written well, it’s short, specific and true. That last part is the hard one.
Why a vague promise isn’t enough
Clients want to know when AI is involved. In a 2025 Pew Research Center survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults, 76% said it’s extremely or very important to be able to tell whether pictures, videos and text were made by AI or by people. That survey wasn’t about coaching. But coaching runs on trust, and a client who wonders whether a machine shaped their session recap has a reason to hold something back.
A vague promise doesn’t answer that worry. It asks the client to trust you without telling them what they’re trusting. A specific statement gives them something they can check, and something you can be held to. That’s what builds confidence.
What the coaching bodies say about AI and disclosure
The professional standards point in one direction. The 2025 ICF Code of Ethics, in effect since April 1, 2025, asks coaches to meet their ethical and legal obligations “directly and through any technology systems,” and it names artificial intelligence among those systems. Your obligations to clients don’t pause because a tool is doing part of the work.
The ICF went further in October 2026 with its white paper, Coaching + AI: A Partnership to Unleash Potential. It describes a coach-led model in which AI does not participate in or influence the coaching relationship. Where AI does support parts of a practice, the paper puts the coach in charge of defining the operating procedures, including disclosure, client consent and oversight.
A week later, the Association for Coaching, EMCC Global and the ICF announced a shared framework for responsible AI practice. Transparency sits on its list of priorities alongside client protection, privacy and accountability.
None of this requires you to publish a statement. We found no coaching body that does. What these sources make clear is that disclosure is your responsibility, and a written statement is the simplest way to carry it out.
How to write a responsible AI use statement
Our position at Coach Factory is that AI belongs around the coaching, not in it. Prep, reflection after a session, admin and marketing are fair ground. The coaching itself stays human. Your statement should say where your own line sits, in words a client can follow. These six steps get you there.
1. Take an honest inventory
Before you write a sentence, list every place AI touches your practice. The writing assistant you use for newsletters. The scheduling tool with a smart reply feature. The transcription setting your video platform switched on by default. The list is often longer than you expect.
Be honest about all of it, including uses you’re not proud of. A statement built on a partial inventory will be wrong the day you publish it. If you want a structured way to look at your whole practice first, our seven-part AI ethics audit is a good place to start.
2. Set your line on client information
This is the sentence clients care about most. Say exactly what happens to what they tell you. The safest line, and the one we recommend, is simple. No client, sponsor or third-party material goes into a general-purpose AI tool, with names removed or not, in a temporary chat or not.
That’s stricter than some templates you’ll find online. It’s also easier to keep, because there are no exceptions to remember. Our post on client confidentiality and AI explains why “anonymized” is a weaker promise than it sounds.
3. Say what AI never does in your practice
Clients relax when they see the limits in writing. Name them directly. AI doesn’t coach your clients. It doesn’t interpret what they say or generate insights about them. Those are your job, and saying so tells a client exactly where the human part of the work begins.
4. Name the human check
If AI helps you draft a newsletter or organize your calendar, say that you review everything before it goes out. Then make sure you do. Accountability isn’t a feature of the tool. It belongs to you, and your statement should say so in plain words.
5. Explain consent and how to ask questions
If you ever record a session, the statement should say you’ll only do so with the client’s written consent. The consent itself belongs in a separate signed form, not in the public statement. Our guide to AI notetaker consent covers what that form needs. Close this section with an open door, such as an invitation to ask you anything about how you work.
6. Date it
Add a “last reviewed” date at the bottom. Tools change their features without asking you. A date tells clients the statement is maintained, and it reminds you to look at it again.
Check every claim before you publish
An AI use statement is a public description of your practice, so treat each sentence as something a client could test. If you say a tool never stores client data, confirm it in the tool’s own settings and terms. If you say you never record without consent, check that your video platform isn’t recording or transcribing automatically.
Leave out promises about results. Lines like “AI lets me give you more value” or “I save hours each week so I can focus on you” sound friendly, but they’re claims you’d have to support. Our post on coaching marketing claims explains why that matters. Describe what you do. Don’t sell it.
One more caution. A statement like this isn’t legal advice, and it doesn’t replace your coaching agreement. If you work in a regulated setting or with clients in several countries, have your agreement reviewed by someone qualified.
To make the writing easier, members can download our Responsible AI Use Statement Template. It walks you through the inventory, your client-information line and the claim check, then gives you sample language for each section of the finished statement.
Responsible AI Use Statement Template
“I use AI responsibly” isn’t a commitment yet. It becomes one when it names your tools, says what you’ll never use them for, describes the human check and carries a date. This template gets you there in six short steps. You’ll start with an honest inventory of what you actually d
Where your statement should live
A statement nobody sees doesn’t build trust. Put it where clients make decisions about you:
- Your website. A short page or a section on your About or Work With Me page, linked from your footer.
- Your onboarding packet. New clients read it alongside your agreement, before the first session.
- Your coaching agreement. Attach it as an appendix or reference it by link so the two never contradict each other.
- Your discovery call. Mention it briefly. A prospect who hears you raise the topic first is more likely to trust the rest.
Keeping it true over time
The statement you publish today will drift out of date. A new tool joins your workflow, or a platform you rely on adds an AI feature. Each change is a small moment to revisit what you’ve told clients and update the date at the bottom.
That habit matters more than the first draft. A coach who keeps their statement current is paying attention to how they work, and clients can feel that care. The words on the page matter. The practice behind them matters more, and it’s something you can start building this week with a single honest list.
