Will AI take over employee training next?

Artificial intelligence may not take employees' jobs, but it could play a major role in teaching them how to do their jobs more effectively. 

Already, over half of American employees use AI to complete mandatory work training assigned to them, according to a recent report from online education platform Moodle. Twenty-one percent use AI to answer more difficult questions they are unsure about, and 12% even use the technology to complete the entire training for them. Making AI part of the process from the beginning, however, could be a good solution for employers.

"We're watching new tools come out every day and we're also seeing new ways to use these tools," says Lauren Goodman, product marketing manager at Moodle. "In traditional training, what we often see is a passive approach, like video training with questions throughout to make them more active. But with more accessibility to AI, we have more opportunity." 

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Moodle found that on average, American companies spent an estimated $1,500 per employee on training in 2024 — that's nearly $340 billion across all businesses. And yet, the report shows that a quarter of employees felt  the training they received is not impactful, not worth their time and doesn't adequately prepare them for their roles. In fact, 46% speed up training videos to finish faster or let them play while multitasking, and another 14% mute their laptops or click through questions without actually participating.

As a result, employees are not only disengaged, but they also miss foundational teachings they need to be able to do their job successfully. With the help of AI tools, training programs can be made to be more interactive, effective and specialized. 

"Scenario based training, for example, gives someone a real problem to solve and then asks them to use the tools available to them in their roles and urges them to reflect on how they use those tools," Goodman says. "That way, it doesn't just end with a task." 

Leveraging new or emerging technologies will play a critical role in the evolution of what workplace training will look like in the wake of both return-to-work trends and continued hybrid and remote settings, Goodman says, because the needs and expectations are the same for all three. 

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"When workplace learning is at its best, it's helping employees connect and see the purpose of their work — that they're working towards something that is making the world a better place," she says. "And when we can create structures, programs and tools that help employees make that connection by leveraging AI, they're able to connect with that greater purpose and then ideally connect with one another  across the organization." 

Using more AI also removes some of the burden from managers, who are typically in charge of overseeing training efforts, and frees them up to use that time to focus on employee feedback and communication. It also helps organizations tackle any apprehension surrounding AI that employees in their organization may still feel early by introducing them to the tech early and providing pathways to discuss what did and didn't work. 

"AI is not a replacement for humans and it is certainly not a replacement for teachers," she says. "But what AI can really do is help us with some of the more clerical and administrative tasks, like training, so we're not spending so much time meticulously analyzing a spreadsheet or copy and pasting information."