Perhaps Volkswagen Group's Ello asked the right question after all and could be fundamental to save the company from extinction.

When Volkswagen introduced Ello, much of the discussion focused on timing. A company talking about AI-supported wellbeing while simultaneously discussing major restructuring inevitably raises eyebrows.

I understand that reaction.

But after thinking about it for a few days, I wonder whether we have been looking at the wrong aspect of the story.

Large transformations place enormous pressure on organisations. Managers suddenly need to have conversations they were never trained for. Employees have to deal with uncertainty over long periods of time. Traditional coaching can make a real difference, but it has one obvious limitation: it does not scale.

This is where AI becomes interesting.

Not because it replaces coaches, but because it could make coaching dramatically more effective. An AI platform can help people prepare for difficult conversations, capture reflections between coaching sessions, identify recurring themes and provide support when a coach is not available.

The human relationship remains at the centre. The technology simply extends it.

That combination strikes me as one of the most promising applications of AI in large organisations. The challenge will not primarily be technical. In Europe, questions around privacy, trust, the AI Act and GDPR will shape what is possible and what people are willing to accept.

Perhaps Ello itself is not the breakthrough.

But it points towards a future in which AI does not replace human coaching. It amplifies it.

If we can find that balance, organisations may eventually discover that AI is not just a productivity tool.

It becomes a better way of helping people navigate change.