AI as a Coach in Negotiations: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Guide, Augment, and Democratize Negotiation Learning

Abstract Artificial intelligence promises to reshape negotiation education, not by replacing human judgment but by augmenting it. While research on automated coaching varies on many dimensions, a salient axis is temporal—whether the coaching occurs before, during, or after the negotiation of a focal deal. This temporal taxonomy also serves to elucidate differences between the projects presented at the AI Negotiation Summit in March 2025. These projects drew on AI for providing pertinent legal information, prompting negotiation strategies, interpreting negotiation agreements, and identifying tactical missed opportunities. Potentially AI coaching could widen access to negotiation training for many populations that could benefit from it. Yet it also raises questions about authenticity, bias, and ethics. Drawing analogies to autonomous driving technology, we argue that the optimal uses of AI coaching lie in complementarity: AI coaching should expand human capacity for rigorous preparation, active perspective taking, and creative problem-solving—while leaving voice, agency, and responsibility where they belong: with human negotiators. We argue that it can also level the playing field in extending educational access to less privileged populations.