5 Data-Backed Insights Shaping the Future of AI in Workplace Learning 

Over the past year, AI has shifted from a futuristic concept to a practical tool reshaping how L&D teams design, deliver, and measure learning. But with that speed comes uncertainty: Are we adopting AI fast enough? Are we using it in the right ways? And perhaps most importantly: what are other L&D leaders actually doing?

To answer those questions, Go1 analyzed responses from two large-scale surveys - 1,000 L&D leaders and 1,000 employees, alongside the collation of insights from the Go1 internal Content Intelligence dataset summarizing learner enrollments, to understand how organizations are really navigating AI adoption.

The results were surprising: L&D leaders aren't just keeping pace with AI, in many cases, they're leading the charge. But the journey isn't without its challenges.

Here are five key insights from the Go1 AI Research Report that reveal what's really happening in L&D right now, and what it means for your own strategy moving forward.

While employees experiment with AI tools on their own, L&D leaders aren't sitting on the sidelines.

In fact, a whopping 82% of L&D admins say they have started leveraging AI as part of their L&D programs, with AI-powered adaptive learning the second most common delivery method for workplace learning after in-person training. Plus, 43% of L&D leaders said that more than a third of their L&D content is now powered or personalized by AI.

What this means for you: If you're experimenting with AI in your L&D programs, but don’t have a solid strategy yet, you're not behind. In fact, you're leading the charge. And if you haven't started yet, you're entering at a moment when best practices are emerging and the learning curve is getting easier.

“The companies that are most progressed through their Al journey are also those that promote significant ground-level experimentation and curiosity, to find the 'diamonds' of productivity improvement that are hiding within the organization.” — Chris Eigeland, CEO at Go1

Evidence from our research shows that L&D leaders are primarily driven to incorporate AI learning as a way to respond faster and more effectively to skill needs. In fact, it was the #1 reported reason in our findings.

We also found that L&D leaders used AI the most to analyze skills and that they plan to evaluate how effective AI is by measuring what capabilities employees acquire.

What this means for you: L&D leaders are laser-focused on speed and responsiveness, using AI to close skills gaps before they widen. If your AI strategy is tied directly to skills development and workforce agility, you're already on the right track. And if it's not, this clarity gives you a North Star to realign around.

More than half of respondents describe themselves as confident or very confident in their ability to guide AI adoption within their organizations. The strongest drivers of L&D confidence? Being involved in monitoring AI learning outcomes and addressing compliance concerns.

But here's the challenge: Ownership for AI in learning remains distributed. Only 23% of respondents describe ownership as very clear, and 25% describe it as mostly or completely unclear.

Plus, governance is also fragmented, with 28% of L&D leaders saying they drive an AI learning strategy with executive support, 31% reporting collaborating closely with leadership, and 26% saying they primarily execute decisions made by others.

What this means for you: While confidence is crucial, clarity is what will set your organization up for long-term success. For L&D leaders, the opportunity here is to step into a more defined leadership role by contributing to how AI success is defined and taking ownership of monitoring outcomes, becoming central to your organization's AI transformation.

“Successfully adapting to the AI-first world requires both skill uplift and cultural evolution. L&D managers have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to embrace the uncertainty and play a strategic role in both areas. Those who don't risk L&D being sidelined while the rest of the business moves forward.” — Chris Eigeland, CEO at Go1 

Nearly 3 in 4 L&D leaders believe human skills, leadership, and coaching will always require a human touch, while areas like technical skill building and compliance training do not. We found that employees agree with both.

Data from Go1's Content Intelligence backs this up: in the past 12 months, there have been 7.7 million compliance and technical enrollments, with learners most engaged with these topics. Comparatively, there were 5.2 million enrollments in personal development or business skills topics during the same time period, which suggests that companies are taking a hybrid approach to these skills.

What this means for you: You don't have to choose between AI and human instruction, and your learners don't want you to. Use AI to scale technical and compliance training efficiently, freeing up your time and budget to invest in high-touch leadership development, coaching, and interpersonal skills training where human connection truly matters.

About 2 out of 3 L&D admins say that the use of AI in learning has highlighted discrepancies between company expectations and actual learner behavior. The top-cited discrepancy? AI usage varies dramatically across different roles and departments.

Other key discrepancies include:

●      Learners are using AI tools that L&D didn't provide or approve

●      Learners want more control over AI personalization than L&D has planned for

●      Learners expect faster Al implementation than L&D can deliver

What this means for you: These discrepancies are opportunities for L&D leaders to step in. High variation in AI usage across departments tells you where different teams are in their AI maturity and what support they need. Use of unapproved tools offers a clear indicator of unmet needs you can address with approved alternatives, and requests for more personalization—faster—help you roadmap for what features to prioritize next.

If there is one takeaway from these insights, it is this: you are not navigating this alone, and you are not behind. L&D leaders across industries are asking the same questions, facing the same uncertainties, and uncovering the same opportunities. The difference between feeling overwhelmed and feeling equipped often comes down to having the right context and a clear framework for what to do next.

Go1’s AI Research Report gives you the data and benchmarks you need to understand where your organization stands today and where you can lead next. Whether you are already integrating AI into your learning programs or just beginning to explore what is possible, the report provides the clarity required to move forward with confidence.

With these insights in hand, Go1 is partnering with organizations to turn understanding into action. The Go1 AI for L&D Maturity Assessment helps you assess your organization’s AI maturity, and the Go1 AI Upskilling Playbook gives you a practical and proven approach to building an AI learning strategy that engages your workforce from the very beginning.