In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a vital tool that is revolutionizing how we approach work, transforming nearly every single business function inside an organization. Learning and development (L&D) leaders stand at the cusp of this change and must recognize the crucial role they play in embracing and harnessing the power of AI for the long-term success of their business.

L&D leaders are uniquely positioned to be AI trailblazers and are on the forefront of finding new ways to adopt innovative technology to grow and develop people and ensure their workforces are ready for what’s next. According to the World Economic Forum, over 85% of organizations are planning to increase adoption of new and frontier technologies over the next five years to address the urgent need for upskilling. By implementing AI-powered learning technology, L&D leaders can enable more effective, continuous learning where people can respond to ongoing, dynamic changes.

Out With the Old, in With the New

For many years, the approach to the employee learning experience was largely “one-size-fits-all.” There was little personalization and employees all completed the same courses regardless of what their learning needs were. This approach meant that existing and emerging skills gaps were often left unaddressed. Learning delivery methods were generic and standard, failing to pull the learner in by leveraging different modules or content. “Choose your own adventure,” or on-demand, learning was unheard of.

However, emerging learning delivery methods are bringing us closer to the ideal learning experience that will not only enhance employee’s growth and development, but also enable organizations to meet evolving business and performance objectives. Employees increasingly want personalized skill development that’s mapped to where they want to go in the organization and in their career. According to a joint 2023 talent mobility study from Cornerstone and Lighthouse Research, 73% of employees are interested in learning about new roles within their company, and 80% were more likely to prefer the use of technology for exploring career advancement over direct conversations with managers. Employees are craving more growth opportunities and they want to use technology to find them.

With AI, we can create a learning experience that is more immersive, engaging and aligned with the evolving nature of work. As the mobility report confirms, organizations that leverage personalized L&D will see attrition rates decline and satisfaction increase. The era of traditional, static and unmeasurable learning courses is being left in the past.

AI Creates Personalized Learning That Works

Because of the internet, we have become accustomed to quickly accessing a wealth of information at our fingertips. And while this vast amount of knowledge and information provides endless learning opportunities, we need to be able to filter to what is useful, credible and relevant.

AI can play a powerful role in creating personalized, relevant and useful learning experiences, and in doing so at scale. By gathering accrued data and insights on an employee’s skills, their performance history, their career paths — and the needs of the business — AI-powered L&D tools can immediately serve up custom learning and growth plans that work.

It’s not just one-and-done either. AI can help provide continuous and adaptive support in the moments that matter for an employee. AI-powered learning tools can make in-the-flow learning recommendations, like suggesting related reading or videos, based on what the employee is working on at any given moment. This regular cadence of support also ensures that employees are learning at the exact time of need, at their own pace and engaging with material that is unique to them, leading to higher levels of engagement and a better retention of knowledge.

Impact on L&D Operations

Beyond the enormous value AI will have on learning experiences for employees, there is another side to the story that is possibly even more beneficial — the operational side of running effective L&D programs. For instance, we are seeing more and more AI-powered tools that are automating more mundane learning management tasks, such as content translation and audio-to-text transcriptions. Helping with these sorts of practical steps is creating more efficiency and giving L&D teams more time to be strategic.

We’re also starting to see AI provide more meaningful analytical support, such as gathering insights from data and other information to shape and guide new learning content. Not only does this insight enable more productive ways to work with subject matter experts, but it can also help pre-build instructions, generate assessments and even assemble existing content from various sources to create a longer-form course with current and fresh content with minimal guidance from a course developer.

As more effective content is built with the support of AI, L&D leaders will also be able to lean on AI for content management with greater ability to tag or categorize content, as well as maintain better version control of courses and programs. As employees engage with content, AI can be used for data visualization to gauge consumption, efficacy and return on investment (ROI). It can also support sentiment analysis, leveraging social listening and surveyed data to determine the perception and value of learning content.

Another area where AI is poised to transform L&D is with skills mapping — the concept of connecting skills to content, people and job roles to create skill taxonomies and competency maps across the organization. This level of skill insight will undoubtably empower L&D leaders to have a prominent seat at the table, driving strategic business discussions and addressing challenges that no one else in the organization can do so as effectively.

Where AI and L&D Go Next

While there are still more iterations of AI to explore in corporate learning, ranging from augmented reality to gamification, it is clear that AI will increasingly become a key component of a successful L&D strategy. AI is evolving rapidly, and we can expect a continued rush of innovation. I expect to see progress in the areas of real-timing coaching, L&D support bots and a greater focus on leveraging AI for the learning needs of marginalized and underrepresented groups — both adjusting content for unique needs and diversifying curriculum.

The AI runway is massive for our industry, and L&D leaders must buckle up and welcome these new ideas with optimism — albeit cautious optimism. AI does raise questions regarding data responsibility, unintentional bias, privacy and security. We, of course, must take these concerns seriously and ensure we are adopting technology that is proven and designed with the utmost safeguards in mind.

When approached strategically and responsibly, AI will change how business run and impact the potential of every single person in the workforce — including L&D professionals. It’s a win-win for all.