Keep a Claude or ChatGPT window open in a second browser tab during your Zoom session and use it to generate quick examples, answer unexpected questions, summarize what students just said, or pull up a better explanation when your first one isn’t landing.
AI as a Live Teaching Co-Pilot
The idea of using AI during a live session feels strange to most educators at first — it seems like cheating, or like it might make you look less knowledgeable. In practice, it is more like having a very fast research assistant sitting next to you who can look things up, rephrase explanations, and generate examples on the spot. Your expertise guides the session; AI fills the gaps that used to require either improvisation or admitting you don’t know.
The key is that AI works best in a supporting role during live facilitation, not a leading one. You are still the one reading the room, managing the energy, and deciding what the group needs next. AI just makes you faster and better resourced when you need it.
Practical Ways to Use AI During a Zoom Session
The most common real-time use is generating on-the-fly examples. A student asks for an example of a prompt that would work for their specific situation — say, a fitness coach who wants to write newsletters. You can type that into Claude in 10 seconds and have a concrete, personalised example to paste into the chat or read aloud. That level of specificity is almost impossible to prepare in advance for every possible student scenario.
You can also use AI to rephrase an explanation that isn’t landing. If you explain a concept and see blank faces on Zoom, quickly ask Claude: “Explain [concept] using an analogy that would make sense to a 55-year-old coach who has never used AI.” Read the response out loud or paraphrase it. The shift in framing often unlocks understanding instantly. Other live uses include summarising a breakout room discussion into key themes, generating a quick quiz question to check understanding, or pulling a relevant statistic when a student asks for evidence.
What This Means for Educators
Using AI in real time does not make you less of an expert — it makes you a better facilitator. The best teachers have always known when to look something up rather than guess. AI just makes that lookup instantaneous and invisible to students. The result is a live session that feels more responsive, more personalised, and more resourced than anything you could deliver from preparation alone.
The Simple Rule
Open a Claude or ChatGPT tab before every live session. Use it when a question catches you off guard, when an example would help, or when you need a fresh way to explain something. Keep your facilitation voice — just let AI hand you better materials in real time.