David Clutterbuck launches AI coaching clone at EMCC conference

By AI, Created 4:48 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Professor David Clutterbuck unveiled Ask David, an AI coaching assistant trained on his published work, at the EMCC Global Annual Conference in Zagreb on May 13, 2026. The launch puts decades of coaching and mentoring research into a tool that can answer questions with cited source material, aiming to make Clutterbuck’s framework more accessible to coaches worldwide.

Why it matters: - Ask David turns decades of coaching and mentoring research into an AI assistant that can answer questions on demand. - The launch brings Professor David Clutterbuck’s frameworks into a format coaches can use between sessions and across time zones. - The product is positioned as a coaching tool that cites source material in every response, which could matter for trust and practical use in professional settings.

What happened: - Professor David Clutterbuck launched Ask David at the EMCC Global Annual Conference in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 13, 2026. - Ask David is an AI coaching assistant trained on Clutterbuck’s complete body of work. - Personify built the assistant. - The launch took place at the annual summit for coaching professionals worldwide. - Ask David drew 48 user registrations in the first two minutes after launch.

The details: - Ask David is trained on 80+ published books and 900+ articles and briefings by Clutterbuck. - The assistant supports voice conversation and text-based coaching questions. - Ask David cites source material from Clutterbuck’s published work in every response. - The product is currently in beta and available by invitation from CCMI. - Clutterbuck has spent 40 years developing coaching and mentoring theory and practice globally. - His published work includes more than 80 books and 900+ articles on coaching, mentoring, team dynamics and leadership. - Clutterbuck pioneered frameworks including the PERILL Model, the Coach Maturity Model and the Seven Conversations of Coaching. - Clutterbuck co-founded the European Mentoring and Coaching Council in 1992 and remains central to its global coaching standards work. - Personify is an AI clone platform used by experts across 94 countries. - Personify has powered over 1,000,000 conversations for coaches, consultants and thought leaders. - DeepQuery Ltd operates Personify and is headquartered in London. - DeepQuery Ltd was founded in London by Henry Howard-Tripp and Jekabs Musins. - DeepQuery Ltd is registered in England and Wales. - CCMI is Clutterbuck’s research and development organisation and advances evidence-based coaching and mentoring practice globally. - CCMI’s website is clutterbuck-cmi.com.

Between the lines: - The launch signals growing demand for expert-branded AI tools that package a single practitioner’s knowledge into a searchable, conversational product. - By anchoring responses to published source material, Ask David is designed to avoid the generic feel of broad-purpose AI models. - Launching at EMCC Global gives the product direct access to the professional audience most likely to use Clutterbuck’s ideas. - The first-minute registration spike suggests strong curiosity, though the release does not provide adoption or retention data beyond the initial signups.

What’s next: - Ask David remains in beta, so the next stage will likely focus on invitation-based testing and refinement. - CCMI and Personify are likely to use early user feedback to shape future coaching and mentoring applications. - The companies also point to a done-for-you service that can build, train and launch a custom AI clone in under four weeks.