By Rachel Walter
Artificial intelligence (AI) is making waves in Learning & Development (L&D), offering organizations more than just faster course creation or reduced training costs, even if that is what the Fosway research shows is top of mind1 (Fosway, n.d.). The real potential of AI lies in its ability to transform L&D into a strategic driver of business outcomes. How can you know if your organization is ready to embrace AI? How can you help your team understand and use AI effectively when it is changing so rapidly?
Why AI Is a Game-Changer for L&D
We’ve all heard how AI can optimize tasks and personalize learning, but the true value of AI goes much deeper. When properly leveraged, AI can position your L&D team as more than training providers or order takers. It can help align your efforts with C-suite priorities, making L&D a key player in workforce development and business transformation.
Imagine AI providing real-time insights into skills gaps, helping to predict future training needs, or enabling personalized learning pathways at scale. With AI, your L&D team becomes problem-solvers, change enablers, and strategic partners. They also become enablers of innovation, creativity, and true differentiation.
Where Do You Start?
Here are a few tips and insights to get you thinking about AI adoption in L&D. You don’t need to have all the answers today, but these areas will guide you toward the next steps.
Align L&D with Business Strategy
Before jumping into AI, you need to understand how your L&D efforts currently support broader business goals. AI can enhance this alignment, but only if you know where you’re starting from. First you need to know what you are currently measuring, what you have the ability to measure, and what your leadership team finds important. Then you can examine what you’re currently doing and identify links and possible gaps as related to your organization’s strategic priorities. AI-driven analytics could help you link learning outcomes more closely with business KPIs.
TIP: Sit down with your C-suite leaders. Ask them what key strategic goals they have for the next few years. Is it improving innovation, increasing market share, or driving digital transformation? Then, reflect on how your learning programs can support these goals. AI can help you scale your initiatives faster, but make sure it’s pointed in the right direction first.
Evaluate Your Technology Infrastructure
AI isn’t a plug-and-play solution—it requires robust technology to work. Start by assessing your current systems, such as your Learning Management System (LMS) or Learning Experience Platform (LXP). Are they ready for AI integration? Don’t fall for the hype that your vendors or partners might be promoting; ask for specifics about what type of backbone or technology is in use in the platform. Verify that your data is structured in a way that it does not require a lot of restructuring before AI can use it.
TIP: Look into your data quality. AI thrives on data, so it’s critical that you have high-quality, relevant data on learner behaviors, engagement, and outcomes. If your data is incomplete or scattered across systems, that’s something to address before implementing AI.
Foster a Culture of Innovation
AI isn’t just about technology—it’s mostly about change. Introducing AI into your L&D strategy will require a shift in how your team and your organization think about learning. You’ll need to move away from being course creators and become facilitators of strategic workforce development. According to the Fosway research, most L&D teams are looking at AI today as a way to speed up course creation. This is short-sighted and does not harness the full possibilities of AI to make a difference. However, you also may be limited by IT regulations, so check if your organization is experimenting with AI in other areas. Look at your team’s strengths—do you currently make data-based decisions? Do you have any data analysts on your team that might help make the case for more AI?
TIP: Get buy-in from across the organization. AI is a big change, and for it to work, your whole team needs to be on board. Encourage a mindset of innovation by framing AI as a tool that helps your team work smarter, not harder. Consider approaching this as a change management journey; find your early adopters and supporters and getthem to champion your AI enabled learning strategy.
Upskill Your L&D Team
AI is powerful, but it’s only as good as the people using it. If your team doesn’t have the skills to manage AI-driven tools, the technology won’t be fully leveraged. AI tools require a shift in mindset—from content creation to managing personalized learning paths and using AI-driven insights for decision-making. There are many providers out there who are offering training on AI prompts or AI course generation tools, but these overlook the most critical skills that your L&D team needs—consultancy, change management, data literacy, and comfort with rapidly changing technology.
TIP: Invest in future skilling your L&D team. This could include training on how to interpret data, work with AI tools, or manage AI-enhanced learning experiences. It could be as basic as helping them with AI prompts to ask better questions or analyze data. It could be focused on helping them become change agents. Every L&D team has unique challenges and might require specific types of training.
Personalization at Scale
One of the most exciting aspects of AI is its ability to offer personalized learning experiences at scale. But for this to happen, you need to think about how adaptable your content is. Can it be broken down into bite-sized, modular pieces that AI can mix and match based on learner needs? Are you using easily accessible content such as HTML, text, video, and image-based chunks of content, or are you using SCORM modules that are harder to break up? Have you already considered things like removing text from images so that auto translation and alt text tools can function well?
TIP: Start rethinking your content creation strategy. AI works best with modular, flexible content that can be personalized based on learner preferences and performance. Consider how you can break up your existing courses into smaller, adaptable pieces.
Focus on Accessibility and Inclusivity
AI has the potential to revolutionize accessibility in learning, particularly for learners with disabilities. By automating adjustments to learning materials based on individual needs, AI can make learning more inclusive. But with that power comes responsibility. Inclusion means different things at different organizations. To ensure success on this journey, you need to ensure that you are aware of laws and regulations as well as your organization’s approach and vision. What challenges might you face?
TIP: As you evaluate AI solutions, ask yourself how these tools can help create a more accessible learning environment. Are they designed to accommodate various learning needs, including those with disabilities? Are you aware of the needs for inclusive language, inclusive imagery, inclusive examples?
Next Steps: Using an AI Readiness Worksheet
Once you’ve gone through the area mentioned above, it’s time to assess your readiness more formally. This is where an AI Readiness Worksheet can help. It walks you through these same areas—strategy, technology, culture, skills, and personalization—offering a clear way to measure your readiness and identify gaps.
How to Use It
Evaluate: Use the worksheet to get a snapshot of where you currently stand.
Prioritize: Identify key areas where you need to focus, whether it’s upgrading technology, upskilling your team, or rethinking your content.
Engage: Bring key stakeholders—IT, HR, senior leaders—into the conversation, using the worksheet to align on goals and action steps.
Final Thoughts: AI as a Strategic Partner
AI in L&D is about more than just optimizing processes or cutting costs. When used effectively, it can help your L&D team become strategic partners to the business, solving problems, driving change, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.
Evaluating your readiness is the first step in this journey. By thinking about alignment, technology, culture, skills, and accessibility, you can set yourself up for AI success and position your L&D team as critical players in business transformation.
