Are AI coaching agents learning friend or foe?: A qualitative study of learning & development leaders’ perceptions of AI coaching agents using UTAUT2

This qualitative study examines how learning and development (L&D) leaders' perceive and evaluate AI-enabled coaching agents and identifies factors shaping organisational adoption. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11senior L&D and HR leaders from large organisations who had recent experience of using generative AI coaching tools. Reflexive thematic analysis generated six themes relating to perceived value at scale, hybrid human–AI delivery preferences, adoption barriers, perceived conversational strengths and limitations, trust and governance concerns, and equity, diversity and inclusion(EDI) considerations. Findings are interpreted through UTAUT2 to clarify how performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, habit and perceived value are refracted through organisational risk, data protection, trust and inclusion. The study contributes an adoption-focused account of how commissioners of workplace learning and development assess coaching and the emergence of AI coach agents, offering implications for governance, implementation design and future research on responsible deployment.

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