AI use grows, but L&D’s core work holds steady

AI has become part of everyday work for many L&D teams. Donald H Taylor and Eglė Vinauskaitė’s latest annual report examines how far that growing use is changing what teams do and what their organisations need from them.

Now in its fourth year, their AI in L&D research has followed practitioners from early experimentation into implementation. This year’s report, Around the Core, describes teams using AI more extensively and with greater sophistication, while content development and learning design remain at the centre.

There is movement beyond that core too. A small group of teams reports that their organisations now approach them for different things, offering an early indication of how L&D’s role could develop.

The survey draws on 531 practitioners in 55 countries. More than two thirds say their organisations use AI in L&D, compared with about 40% two years ago and more than half last year.

Taylor and Vinauskaitė trace growth around that core: analysing results, supporting design decisions and automating departmental processes. Teams are doing more than producing material faster. They are using AI to work out what is needed, improve what they design and examine what happens afterwards.

Evaluation and analytics rose from eighth to third among ten categories of use between 2023 and 2026. In a separate question about expected benefits, 44.5% selected data analysis to support decision-making, up from 31.9% in 2024. Faster content creation remained the leading expected benefit.

The authors’ ‘break-out’ group gives the discussion a further direction. Of 298 workplace L&D and HR respondents answering a question about departmental change, 43, about 14%, said the rest of their organisation now approaches them for different things.

Among those describing their AI use, these teams more often put AI directly in front of learners, through practice, coaching and feedback, at 38% against 17% of other workplace teams. They also more often described using AI for operations, including workflow automation and internal tools, at 45% against 17%.

Content development remained common in both groups. Only 37% of the break-out group, however, ranked faster content creation among their three main expected benefits, compared with 63% of other workplace respondents.

This brings Taylor and Vinauskaitė back to a question running through their earlier reports: how does L&D move beyond improving its own efficiency? Their argument is that a broader role requires leadership, sustained effort and relationships across the organisation. Experience in producing content with AI does not automatically build those foundations.

They write: ‘We believe the next phase may be as much about L&D’s role in the organisation as its use of the technology.’

The barriers help explain the work still ahead. Skills, knowing where to start or making a business case were cited by 36%, down from 49% in 2024. Integration, cost, time or resistance affected 66%. Data privacy and security remained the most common individual barrier, at 52%.

The report’s case studies bring that work into view. Randstad Enterprise uses an existing AI assistant to help managers identify performance gaps and support their teams’ development. KPMG UK connects personalised pathways with practical tasks and evidence of application. Further examples examine agent workflows at EY and International Aviation Technical College Riyadh.

The break-out finding is an early signal, rather than proof of greater influence or of AI causing a change in L&D’s role. Organisations may also be approaching teams for help with AI adoption itself. Survey respondents were self-selecting, with little overlap between years, so the figures are not representative of the whole profession and annual changes may partly reflect the sample. The report is sponsored by Sana, Docebo, OpenSesame and Speexx.

AI in workplace L&D

• More than two thirds: respondents saying their organisations use AI in some parts of L&D or extensively as an integral part of their work.
• 44.5%: respondents selecting data analysis to support decision-making among their three expected AI benefits, compared with 31.9% in 2024.
• About 14%: workplace L&D and HR respondents saying their organisations now approach them for different things, 43 of 298 answering the departmental change question.
• 38% versus 17%: direct learner interaction with AI described by the break-out group and other workplace teams respectively.
• 45% versus 17%: AI use for operations, including workflow automation and internal tools, described by the break-out group and other workplace teams respectively.
• 36%: respondents citing at least one readiness barrier, compared with 49% in 2024.
• 66%: respondents citing integration, cost, time or resistance as a barrier.
• 52%: respondents citing data privacy and security concerns.

Source: AI in L&D 2026: Around the Core. Self-selecting survey of 531 practitioners. Break-out comparisons use a smaller workplace L&D and HR subgroup.

Links

Get the report. AI in L&D 2026: Around the Core

Watch the presentation at the upcoming Learning Technologies Autumn Forum, online 22 Oct