*Thisarticle is based on a YouTube video by Sophie Hundertmark, an expert in the use of artificial intelligence with a focus on chatbots and strategic AI applications in companies and public institutions. Sophie is a researcher and lecturer at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and is doing her doctorate in Conversational AI at the University of Fribourg. The blog text was created using a custom GPT model that was trained on Sophie’s video content, language style and expertise. The result is well-founded, up-to-date articles based on Sophie Hundertmark‘s own expertise.
You can find the link to the video at the end of this article.
Lately I’ve been asked again and again: How do you actually build these AI coaches you keep talking about? Whether for my language learning experiments, e-mail communication or as support for my students – AI coaches have become an integral part of my everyday (learning) life. In this article, I’ll show you how I create these assistants, which tools I use and what you should bear in mind.
What is an AI coach?
For me, an AI coach is an individually configured AI assistant that performs a specific task. This can be anything from “Help me learn Italian” to “Help my students optimize their table of contents”. The important thing is that it is not an all-round chatbot, but is clearly focused on a specific task.
1. my language learning tandem
I am currently learning Italian. To do this, I built an AI coach that:
- improved my Italian sentences,
- explains to me why something is wrong,
- and still gives me a direct answer.
That way I can have conversations and learn at the same time. The whole thing works via ChatGPT Plus or Gemini, for example.
2. coach for students
I have built a coach for my students that gives feedback on tables of contents. I use SwissGPT for this because the data remains on Swiss servers – an important issue, especially for theses.
The coach receives my assessment guidelines in the background and can make targeted suggestions for improvement based on them.
3. digital learning assistant for children
Another example: a physics coach for children.
I have configured the coach so that it:
- at the beginning, asking for favorite movie, food and country,
- learning content (e.g. Top Gun for forces and movement),
- created a quiz and responded lovingly to mistakes.
This makes learning personal and motivating.
4. e-mail coach with my style
I also built a coach who writes emails in my style. I uploaded six of my old emails and asked the AI to create writing guidelines from them. The result was surprisingly good. Ideal for frequent writers or teams with standardized communication.
5. imitate WhatsApp style
A little more experimental, but fascinating: I’ve also had WhatsApp histories analyzed with SwissGPT. The AI responded amazingly well in the style of my best friend or my partner – but just the way they wrote seven years ago. This also shows that AI learns from context, but does not know the present.
This is how it works: Become your own coach in 7 steps
- Select tool: ChatGPT Plus, SwissGPT or Gemini
- Create a new assistant or GPT
- Set name and description
- Formulate promptly (e.g. “You are a relaxed learning coach…”)
- Upload knowledge sources (e.g. documents, emails)
- Test, optimize, iterate
- Share: publicly, via link or internally only
Important: The prompt is the heart of the coach. It is not the name, not the description, but the instructions in the prompt field that make the difference.
Tips from the field
- A coach is only as good as your input. Good prompts + good data = good coach.
- Tools such as SwissGPT are suitable for sensitive data.
- Share your coach with others (team, children, students), but explain the framework.
- A coach does not replace your brain, but expands your possibilities.
My conclusion
For me, AI coaches are the most exciting feature of current AI tools. They are quick to build, versatile and often make learning and working easier and more individual. Whether for yourself, your team or your children: just give it a try!
Any further questions?
Do you have any questions? I am happy to support you, act as a sparring partner and answer your questions. I am always happy to receive your messages, preferably by WhatsApp message or e-mail.
