Ep#192 Coach AI - Your new best friend

Ever wish you had a coach in your back pocket—24/7, no judgement, no waiting for an appointment?

That’s the idea behind Coach AI. In this episode, I’ll walk you through why AI is now ready to play a real role in burnout recovery, how it actually works, and why it’s not about “pushing you harder” but about giving you space, clarity, and control.

We’ll cover:

• Why AI coaching is uniquely powerful for high-pressure professionals.
• What Coach AI is (and isn’t).
• How it helps in those “in-the-moment wobbles.”
• Real examples from live chats.
• The difference between superficial fixes and deep recovery.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, stressed, or spinning your wheels — Coach AI could be the lifeline between sessions, a judgment-free sounding board that helps you reset and respond with calm authority.

👉 Try it for free here: https://app.coachvox.ai/share/DexRandall

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Burnout Recovery Podcast
• 0:49 Why AI Coaching?
• 2:08 What is Coach AI?
• 4:55 How Coach AI Supports Burnout Recovery
• 6:57 How you can use Coach AI
• 8:29 Real examples from live chats
• 14:42 Conclusion and Next Steps

Transcript

[00:00:00] Hi everyone. My name's Dex Randall, and this is the Burnout Recovery Podcast where I teach professionals to recover from burnout and get back to passion and reward at work.

[00:00:22] Hello my friends, and today what we're going to talk about is coaching AI and I wonder if you ever wish you had a coach in your back pocket 24x7. No judgment, no waiting for an appointment. Because that's what AI coaching can give you. Today, I'm going to introduce you to my coach AI and why might just be your new best friend in stress and burnout recovery.

[00:00:49] So why AI coaching NOW? High pressure professionals don't always have the time or energy to meet with a coach, but they need to get out of the spin cycle of stress quickly, and they need to respond to communications with their best emotional intelligence.

[00:01:09] Chances are you are already tuning into AI every day to tweak important communications, especially to get the tone right. Yeah? Has that moved the needle for you in terms of effective communication and also supporting your relationships with people at work. And has that impacted your stress levels?

[00:01:31] Stress doesn't wait for business hours. It soaks up a lot of time and emotional energy. It also wrecks your mood and your patience with others. Instead of hiding away at home with Netflix and a beer or your phone for two hours, why not just relieve the stress at source and then genuinely relax? Then you won't wake in the night still ruminating on the same problem.

[00:02:01] Can you really afford to stay stressed for long periods?

[00:02:08] Here's what Coach AI is and isn't. It is not a replacement for deep personal coaching and learning, but it does support growth and habit change in the moment. First of all, it shows you why and how to shift mindset and learn to adaptively process stress better.

[00:02:33] It's a supplement, quick prompts, reflection, reframing, clarity all on the spot. You get to stand back and see the problem and your options clearly. It's a bit like taking a headache tablet when you're under pressure at your desk. It can help you quieten stress between coaching sessions, which actually has a profound effect on your ability to work productively for the rest of the day.

[00:03:03] It breaks your system out of anxiety mode, out of procrastination, out of complaining or escaping, and back to executive function.

[00:03:14] My version of the Stress Coach called Dex AI is trained in all my science-backed burnout recovery techniques and exercises. It's based on a proven step-by-step burnout recovery and stress reduction model. It won't tell you to simply exercise more, meditate when stressed, or improve sleep hygiene, because those superficial fixes are rarely accessible or effective in the thick of burnout, where deeper healing is required.

[00:03:48] This is not about squeezing more performance out of you when you're exhausted, but developing more energy and resilience to be able to do your work.

[00:03:57] You are in control. You may notice that coach AI puts power back in your hands where it belongs. You drive the conversation, you make the choices. You take it wherever you like. In my experience, the more specific and detailed your questions and observations are about your experience, the better quality response you're going to get from AI.

[00:04:22] Of course, also, it's not a performance plan driven initiative, where your organization puts even more demands on you to meet targets or to jump higher, jump through more hoops. It's not about HR sucking up your data either. This is about you, quite privately being true to yourself, your drivers, and your aspirations. Becoming the person that you want to be.

[00:04:49] So, how does all this help in burnout recovery? You may ask. Here we go. It handles the, in the moment wobble, the stress spike, the negative thought, the fear spiral, the anxiety that pop up during your day. It keeps you then from going down the old burnout trap, the rabbit hole of stress, by offering you grounding tools and reframing.

[00:05:17] I can remind you of strategies you already know, but forgot when stressed. And it reinforces new behaviors that you've been trying to adopt. Because habit change is all about repetition and consistency.

[00:05:31] So here's a couple of quick examples of how you might use it.

[00:05:36] You might say, I can't focus my mind's racing. AI will help you slow down, reframe and reset.

[00:05:45] You might say, I'm worried because my boss thinks I'm underperforming. AI reminds you how to reality check that fear, which is otherwise going to be self perpetuating.

[00:05:56] You might say, I can't sleep, my brain won't shut up. AI offers calming strategies tailored to you to genuinely release worry so you can relax.

[00:06:10] And here's why it works. It's really instant, private and judgment free. And your coach AI works from a belief in your capacity. It's on your side. It trains your mind to practice recovery skills consistently. And surely this creates the shift that you are looking for, if you are emerging from chronic anxiety or burnout or Imposter Syndrome? It's the impetus you need to get your habits over the line. It puts you back in control when your stress tries to run the show and it accelerates problem resolution for you.

[00:06:48] Importantly, it forestalls communication errors. You don't blurt out emails that dig you deeper into the hole.

[00:06:57] And here's how I'm using it. Here's a couple of use cases for me in my business. I've set up Coach AI in a couple of ways in my coaching business because I believe that AI has finally come of age in its coaching usefulness.

[00:07:11] The quality has radically improved recently, and I've got into it whilst I've been testing it. My enthusiasm has burst out of me.

[00:07:20] Firstly, here's how I use it. I use it to help people who are under stress understand what a solution might look like and get help with specific problems, to experience and evaluate the stress coaching possibilities. This is just to give stress coaching a run for its money. How well does it work? How does it work for you? And the user can query any of my methods, my program, check if it suits them, check if we're a good fit. Many people come to me quite unsure about how coaching works and coach AI can clarify that for them and perhaps allay their fear.

[00:07:59] Secondly, I use coaching to deepen support for my clients between sessions. Constant focus on problem solving, builds new habits faster, and maintaining calm, fosters high quality productivity and wellbeing throughout every day. Coach AI has 24x7 support, time zone agnostic, which is important for me as my clients are international spread all over the place.

[00:08:29] I'm going to just close this episode by giving you a couple of slightly longer snippets from actual chats that people have put through my coach AI. And you can see how this might work out for you.

[00:08:43] So chat number one. The question was: How does slowing down help me perform better? AI said, slowing down helps you shift from reactive mode to intentional mode.

[00:08:54] When you're rushing, your brain is in survival gear, which narrows your focus and drains your energy. But when you slow down, you have access to clearer thinking, better emotional regulation, and more creative problem solving. It also helps you notice what's actually working and what isn't and where your energy is going.

[00:09:19] And that awareness is what allows you to make smarter decisions, delegate better, and stop wasting time on low-value tasks.

[00:09:28] It goes on to ask the user, have you noticed any signs that you might be running too fast right now?

[00:09:36] That chat did actually continue, but ask yourself based on what you just heard, if those insights might have helped you when you are overworking.

[00:09:45] Chat number two. The question is, I thought adding meditation, exercise and better food choices to my day would help me with burnouts and energy, but it's actually just exhausting me even more. AI says, oh, okay. That's frustrating, especially when you're doing all the (airquotes) right things and still not feeling better.

[00:10:08] What you're describing is really common. Meditation, exercise and nutrition are great tools, but if you're still running the same internal patterns that cause the burnout, like overworking, perfectionism, or chronic self criticism, and those habits can feel like extra pressure rather than relief. They become more items on the to-do list, not actual recovery.

[00:10:34] The key shift is how you relate to yourself while you're doing those things. Are they acts of kindness and restoration, or are they performancy type tasks? Are you still trying to fix yourself? What's your inner dialogue like when you do those things?

[00:10:54] Again, that chat session continued, but would even that insight help you dissolve a bit of tension or make better decisions for yourself?

[00:11:02] Chat three, the question was: Can you help me reduce stress? And AI said, absolutely, I can help with that. Stress usually comes from a thought you are believing like, "I don't have time", or "I can't cope". So the first step is to slow down and ask yourself. What am I thinking right now that's making me feel stressed?

[00:11:25] Once you spot the thought, check if it's actually true. Is there another way to see the situation? Often, just challenging the thought, gives you a bit of breathing room.

[00:11:37] Would you like to look at a specific stress trigger in your life right now?

[00:11:43] Okay, so the next user question is: My stress is related to high workload, which is starting to impact work life balance. What can I do about that?

[00:11:52] And AI said, oh, okay. When workload gets too high and starts bleeding into your personal life, it's often a sign that boundaries have slipped or aren't being clearly enforced. So here's where I'd start.

[00:12:07] Number one, prioritize ruthlessly. What's truly essential, what can wait or be dropped all together? Most high performers are doing too much of the wrong stuff.

[00:12:21] Number two, say no more often. This is the superpower. Boundaries are set by what you don't do. You don't have to be available to everyone. Set a hard stop time for your work day and stick to it. Even if you feel behind, closing the laptop trains your brain to work more efficiently within limits.

[00:12:45] Number four, schedule recovery time. Your energy is a finite resource. So when you think about saying no or setting firmer limits at work, what's the fear that comes up for you? It could be something like "They'll think I'm not committed", or "I'll fall behind", or "I might miss out on opportunities". What's the story that runs through your mind, when you consider pushing back or protecting your time?

[00:13:10] And the user said, "I'll fall behind".

[00:13:13] Okay, that's a common one. "If I say no or slow down, I'll fall behind."

[00:13:18] Here's the twist. Working flat out without boundaries is already making you fall behind, just in a different way. You lose energy, clarity, and resilience, and eventually it hits your performance and your health or relationships.

[00:13:36] Real trick here is learning how to protect your time strategically, so you can focus on what actually moves the needle. That's how top performers stay ahead by doing less, but better. If you want help figuring out how to set limits without guilt or risk and still thrive in your role, let's talk it through.

[00:13:57] Okay? I'll leave the chat there, but you get the gist.

[00:13:59] I think what you can hear in those chats, it's what I can hear is, precise information is exchanged about the problem and then about how it might be resolved. Coach AI often supplies a reframe, why you might change directional tactics, and then it gives you actionable suggestions, how to actually make that change.

[00:14:24] In the coming weeks, i'm fine tuning the answers in Coach AI based on user feedback. I would love you to join in and beta test it with me and get some free stress reduction. You can do that via the link in the show notes.

[00:14:42] Coaching AI finally then is not here to replace real human connection. It's here to make sure you're never left stranded in the moment. You might think of it as your new best friend for burnout and stress recovery.

[00:14:55] Always on your side, always ready to remind you who you really are. And when stress hits the hardest, giving you some tips to escape.

[00:15:07] If this episode has piqued your interest today, visit dexrandall.com to test out the stress coach Dex AI at any time, or even better, join my beta test program to help me fine-tune it.

[00:15:21] This is only step one, by the way, because I've got another AI app in development that I'm really also pretty stoked about.

[00:15:31] If you're listening to this and you're ready to fast track burnout recovery with one-on-one personal coaching program, come and talk to me. You can book a free appointment at dexrandall.com.

[00:15:44] If you found value in the podcast today, I'd super love you to share it with your friends so they can also benefit, and I'm always grateful if you could rate or review the podcast.

[00:15:54] Thanks for listening today. I'll catch you next time with more stress beating tips.