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Any conversation about the future of L&D tends to arrive at the same place: AI. It’s been a big part of the industry for a few years now, and it’s not going anywhere – if anything, the pace is picking up. Now the focus is moving beyond the hype, and onto using it strategically.
From handling repetitive, admin-heavy tasks to helping you refresh and refine drafts, the benefits of AI are tangible. And those saved hours can be reinvested into the work that really needs a human behind it: the creative thinking, the instructional design, the things that make an impact.
There’s a big difference between simply using AI and using it well, though. According to CYPHER Learning, 60 to 80% of AI projects fall flat, with limited skills, ethical concerns and poor integration listed as factors.
So, what separates the projects that work? Knowing where you are. CYPHER’s roadmap to AI readiness maps out five distinct stages of adoption – and identifying which one describes your team is the first step to getting it right.
1. The reluctant explorer
AI is often met with mistrust initially, and the stakes in L&D make that scepticism even harder to shake. Hallucinated information in a compliance course can have serious consequences. Data privacy isn’t a box-ticking exercise when sensitive training data is involved. And then there’s quality – anyone who’s spent time on LinkedIn lately will have clocked the discourse around AI slop. The result is a team that’s sceptical by default, and not without good reason.
The reluctant explorer has heard enough about AI to know it’s not going away. They might even be using it from time to time – albeit with an eyebrow raised throughout.
At this stage, AI feels inevitable rather than genuinely useful. There’s no clear plan, no real confidence in the tools – and without those things, it’s unlikely to make a meaningful impact.
👉 Sound familiar? Our upcoming webinar AI in L&D: past the hype, into practice is a good place to start
2. The explorer
The explorer is warming up. The scepticism has slightly eased; AI is no longer approached with suspicion, but with curiosity. They’re using it, likely exploring tools beyond ChatGPT and starting to see where it could fit into their L&D work.
But there’s no structure to it yet. Usage is sporadic, and it still very much feels like the team is just trying things out. The potential is there, but it hasn’t been channelled into anything cohesive.
The risk at this stage is staying here too long. Curiosity without direction rarely turns into impact.
3. The experimenter
The experimenter is further along – AI is a regular presence in the working day rather than an occasional curiosity. There’s more confidence here, but the approach is still fragmented. Testing is happening across the team, workflows are being tried and tweaked and there are glimpses of what a proper strategy could look like – it just hasn’t taken shape yet.
There’s enough here to suggest AI could do more, but the full picture isn’t visible to the team yet. Without a clear framework to build on, it’s difficult to know where to go next.
👉 Starting to see the potential but not sure where to take it next? Our webinar with CYPHER Learning can help
4. The integrator
The integrator has moved past experimentation into action. AI isn’t a pilot or an adhoc project anymore – it’s part of how the team works. Processes are more efficient, certain tasks are already automated and there’s a strategy in place rather than a loose collection of experiments.
That said, there’s still headroom. Rollout isn’t at full maturity, and the focus shifts to making sure AI initiatives are pulling in the same direction as wider company goals.
5. The optimiser
The optimiser has figured it out. AI is a tried-and-tested part of the workflow – embedded across L&D and HR, trusted by the team and backed by a clear strategy. The days of trying things out and hoping for the best are long gone. Everyone knows what they’re using, why they’re using it and what it’s there to do.
But the optimiser knows that maturity isn’t a finish line. There’s always more to learn, more to refine, more the data is telling you. The name says it all – reaching this stage is just the beginning of a different kind of work.
AI in L&D: past the hype, into practice
Wherever you are on the roadmap, there’s a clear next step. Join us for our webinar with CYPHER Learning on Wednesday 22nd April at 2pm BST. We’ll go beyond the stages, giving you the practical foundations to build and embed an AI strategy that makes an impact.
Sign up here