As a life and business coach, Alice Inoue is constantly providing guidance and insight to clients through her company, Happiness U. Now, she has an AI version of herself to do that, too.
Happiness U recently launched Alice AI, which provides on-demand advice and guidance through an AI “clone” based on Inoue herself. Inoue developed Alice AI through Coachvox AI, a company that helps people create AI versions of themselves, and it’s based on Inoue’s personality, manner of speaking and teachings.
The new service launched in January and is available exclusively for those who are part of Happiness U’s membership platform Happiness U Hui, or for clients that have an ongoing coaching relationship with Inoue.
Inoue told Pacific Business News that she wanted to launch Alice AI in order to meet demand and offer clients immediate service outside of in-person consultations.
“My schedule is maxed out. I have no room for new clients. It is to provide another ‘me’ to be able to help people,” she said in an email to PBN.
Alice AI, she said, can provide “custom advice and guidance to my regular clients in between sessions.”
“Alice AI can help walk clients through tough decisions, can sympathize and offer techniques to reduce stress, see new perspectives, etc. It's way for clients to still feel connected to me,” she said.
Inoue said Alice AI can answer a range of questions. In one example Inoue shared with PBN, Alice AI responded to a prompt about how to deal with a controlling boss with tips on how to communicate effectively, understand others’ perspectives, and set boundaries. In another sample question, Inoue asked her AI self for help on starting a small business, and Alice AI responded with a list of detailed steps in setting up an Etsy shop, along with broader ideas, such as encouraging the client to think about what makes their brand unique.
“While people do say it starts out as very ‘weird’ when chatting with my clone, they do say it's uncannily familiar and does feel like me as they are chatting,” Inoue said.
Inoue told PBN that she was able to work alongside Coachvox AI developers to create Alice AI at no cost, as part of an early training cohort with the company. Inoue said Coachvox AI led her through a process in which she answered questions as a way of training Alice AI how to respond to various scenarios.
Inoue gave PBN an overview of what the process involved:
- Training on style and tone
Here, Inoue answered questions including whether she is more of a coach or a mentor; is she more empathetic or straight-talking; or if she speaks casually or formally.
- Training on conversation.
“We … gave her my greeting style, sign offs, and how to respond when someone shares something difficult, or celebratory. For example, in real life, when someone asks for my advice, I say, ‘Hmmm… Let me think about it.’ So I programmed Alice AI to do the same so it ‘feels’ like me,” Inoue said.
- Training on engagement
This involved training Alice AI on how to engage with clients.
“Do I need to get to the root cause of someone's challenges before offering guidance? How do I let someone down if they ask a question that is outside my knowledge bank? I programmed her with several responses that I want her to say,” Inoue said.
- Knowledge upload.
In this step, Inoue took as much of her knowledge as she could — in the form of articles she’d written, chapters of her books, podcasts she’s appeared on, etc. — and uploaded it into the system.
- Fine-tuning
“This is where I asked Alice AI questions and saw her responses. If I didn't like a response, I could manually go in and change it so she ‘learns’ what I want her to say,” Inoue said.
Inoue has been a business and life coach for more than two decades, and she’s also an author and columnist. According to her website, her services include life guidance, astrological consultations, and workplace programs that include executive coaching, custom seminars and more. She founded Happiness U in 2013, and the company has worked with 15,000 individuals and more than 150 organizations.
With the new service, Inoue hopes she can continue to broaden her reach and increase her accessibility.
“Though the membership site includes me giving live talks, and has all my articles, videos, and resources to read, it is not a place where people can ask me for personal advice. With my $250/hour coaching fee, not everyone can afford it. Alice AI is available 24/7 to my members and Alice AI can talk to an infinite number of people at once,” Inoue said.
