Sapia.ai unveils Phai, an AI coach for career change

Sapia.ai has launched Phai, an AI career-coaching tool that uses chat-based conversations to help people navigate career change and uncertainty.

It is positioned as a response to shifting career patterns and rising demand for advice on direction, strengths, and options. During a trial phase, more than 1,000 people used Phai, generating early signals about what users want from AI-led coaching conversations.

An analysis of those conversations found that 63% of users asked for guidance on changing career direction. Another 43% were mid-career or later, suggesting demand extends beyond graduates and early-career jobseekers.

Users more often asked how to describe their experience and identify strengths than which roles matched their CV. Confidence gaps, lack of clarity, and uncertainty about direction appeared most frequently across the trial.

Barb Hyman, chief executive and co-founder of Sapia.ai, linked the findings to broader issues in employability and workforce mobility.

"These conversations show that career mobility isn't just about matching CVs to job descriptions," said Barb Hyman, CEO and co-founder of Sapia.ai. "People aren't stuck because opportunities don't exist. They're stuck because they can't see a path forward. That becomes a problem for employability - which is a huge concern for Government."

Product Focus

Phai uses structured dialogue in a chat format to prompt reflection on experience and strengths, then connects those insights to potential opportunities, including roles inside the user's organisation.

The product builds on Sapia.ai's recruitment technology, including chat-based interview tools used by employers for hiring and screening. The company says it has delivered more than eight million chat interviews globally.

Large employers using Sapia.ai's approach include Qantas, BT Group, Costa Coffee, and Holland & Barrett. It also cites Starbucks and Joe & the Juice as customers of its ethical AI for HR teams.

Michael Eizenberg, head of talent acquisition and benefits at Qantas, said the approach aligns with the airline's brand and candidate experience.

"We care deeply about two things when it comes to hiring. Firstly, diversity and inclusivity, and secondly the experience of everyone who comes into contact with the Qantas brand. Our goal is to treat every candidate like we would a customer," said Michael Eizenberg, head of talent acquisition and benefits at Qantas.

Ethics And Data

Phai was designed around ethical AI principles, including fairness, transparency, and human agency. It runs on Anthropic's Claude model, which Sapia.ai says it chose for its "safety-first architecture" and suitability for reflective dialogue.

Phai's conversations are anonymous by design. Sapia.ai says it does not collect personal identifiers and does not reuse conversation data to train underlying models.

Sapia.ai formalises its approach to building and deploying AI in HR through a framework it calls FAIR, covering fairness, accountability, inclusivity, and explainability across models and workflows. It describes the framework as a way to keep human judgement in people decisions.

HR Market Context

The launch comes as HR teams and large employers invest in systems for internal mobility and workforce planning. Many organisations now run internal job boards and talent marketplaces, but adoption remains uneven. Sapia.ai's analysis suggests these systems often assume employees already have the confidence and clarity to choose roles to pursue.

Sapia.ai argues that a conversational format can surface priorities and concerns that standard HR systems miss. It positions the tool as starting with the individual rather than a list of roles, with an emphasis on reflection and articulation.

Phai also enters a crowded market for AI-driven career products, where providers claim to match candidates to roles, rewrite CVs, or generate interview preparation. Sapia.ai positions Phai as a coaching-style interaction focused on direction and self-assessment. It says the product has moved from a public learning experiment to a capability aimed at organisations.

Sapia.ai plans to offer Phai within enterprises, focusing on employer brand, pre-application alignment, and internal mobility at scale.