Corporate Learning and AI: Rethinking How We Grow
AI is reshaping how we learn—but will we use it to deepen understanding or merely accelerate content production?
For years, business learning has followed a predictable pattern: standardized eLearning courses, monotone voiceovers, and rigid, preordained paths. Regardless of the topic, few remember a school textbook as inspiring—outside of its heft. And yet, most can recall a teacher, a story, or an experience that left a lasting mark.
We’ve seen firsthand how learning experiences built on brand narratives, compelling storytelling, and a fundamental respect for the learner lead to meaningful engagement. The best learning environments don’t just impart knowledge; they cultivate curiosity, foster creativity, and acknowledge and respect the expertise and intelligence of the learner.
Now, AI has entered the learning space, and the conversation isn’t merely about automation. The real question is: How can AI empower learners rather than just expedite content production? Imagine a future where individuals have not only personalized learning paths but also intelligent AI mentors that guide their growth—learning that adapts, challenges, and assists.
The challenge is that AI is being integrated into learning in much the same way as previous technologies. Emphasis on efficiency over experience is a mistake.
Misplacing AI in Learning: A Caution
Corporate learning has changed little in terms of employee experience. Training courses are still assigned en masse, and now, AI-powered tools are flooding the market, automating content creation. Simply give an AI a topic, a few bullet points, and desired outcomes, and it will generate a learning module in seconds, replete with a multiple-choice assessment.
From View-Master to VR: As AI transforms learning, will we shoehorn old content into immersive experiences, or will we innovate our pedagogy to fully harness this powerful technology for genuine enhancement?
At first glance, this seems revolutionary. In reality, it is simply an acceleration of a flawed system—one that has long suffered from low engagement and low retention. eLearning, for all its efficiency, has been met with the same enthusiasm as the oversized textbook: endured, not embraced.
Adding AI to content production does not inherently improve learning. In fact, it risks further distancing subject matter experts from their audiences, reducing deep expertise to surface-level summaries. AI can replicate Bob Iger’s leadership insights, Aaron Sorkin’s storytelling techniques, or Helen Mirren’s acting advice. But MasterClass thrives because its instructors bring passion, experience, and a unique perspective on the screen, visible to the learner, in a way that AI-generated content simply cannot replicate.[1]
At its core, learning is a human endeavor. The most profound lessons come not just from knowledge, but from connection—the moment when expertise meets engagement, when curiosity meets mentorship. AI cannot replace that, but it can be designed to support it.
Why Not Just Go Straight to AI? Answer: 42
Some organizations offer immunity to employees experimenting with AI beyond sanctioned guidelines.[2] Others have banned AI usage outright.[3] Meanwhile, many CEOs worry that employees are using it anyway. The truth? AI cannot be contained—it will be used, whether organizations acknowledge it or not.[4]
So, should we embrace AI wholesale? Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will recall that the answer to life, the universe, and everything is “42.” The problem? No one knows the question.[5]
AI presents a similar dilemma. It can generate answers at scale, but without the right questions, those answers are meaningless. Knowledge only becomes valuable when learners understand its relevance, can trust it, and have a structured way to adopt and adapt it to their thinking. Without context and connection to experience, information is just noise.
For AI to be a meaningful tool in learning, it must do more than retrieve information—it must operate within a framework that fosters guidance, critical thinking, and true understanding.
Build the Next Generation of Learning
Rather than using AI to automate the status quo, we should focus on using it to enhance the learner’s experience. This means placing AI in the hands of the learner, rather than confining it to the backend of content development. A more effective AI-driven learning model would:
Establish Core Concepts – Provide foundational knowledge that connects to real-world application.
Structure AI’s Role – Ensure AI enhances human expertise rather than replacing it. AI should act as a mentor, guide, and feedback mechanism—not a content generator in isolation.
Deploy AI as an Assisting Intelligence– AI should engage learners dynamically, offering guidance, challenging assumptions, and providing tailored feedback.
AI’s real potential in learning is not in what it delivers but in how it facilitates learning.
The best learning environments combine the adaptability of AI with the structured guidance of human expertise. Two examples illustrate this well:
Example 1: Khanmigo AI
A compelling example of structured AI learning is Khan Academy’s Khanmigo, which integrates AI-powered mentorship within a structured curriculum. Students interact with historical figures, engage with AI tutors, and follow established storytelling models—ensuring AI-driven learning is more than just information retrieval. Have you ever wanted to ask Don Quixote about modern wind farms? Or explain how multiplying fractions makes things smaller, again, for the fourth time, in a different way. Khanmigo AI from Khan Academy brings a chat agent to life for students, parents, and teachers. As Sal Khan explains in his book, it is not simply an AI chat, but it is given the role of a tutor, helping learners find answers rather than answering. Khanmigo’s framework prioritizes learners, teachers, and parents, offering one-on-one tutoring similar to the personalized coaching Aristotle once provided his students. [6]
Example 2: Chatting with Tony Robbins AI
Here the framework extends beyond source knowledge and methodology to an evolved AI experience. An AI-driven coaching assistant based on Tony Robbins Coaching replicates his voice, energy, and delivery. Trained on his extensive corpus of content, the AI engages learners with the same motivational intensity as Robbins himself. This is not about simply automating knowledge transfer—it is about replicating how his knowledge is delivered in a way that resonates and inspires.[7]
The Importance of Frameworks
The modern knowledge economy produces an overwhelming amount of information. Learners don’t just need answers; they need structured ways to navigate and contextualize information. This is where well-designed frameworks matter. Without them, knowledge acquisition is fragmented—like knowing "42" without knowing the question.
From Thought to Code: Crafting AI Agents for Learning
Transforming 'Human Insight'—the core knowledge and learning—into a practical AI Agent requires a strategic human layer: ‘Model Design’. This 'thought' defines the agent's purpose and shapes the learning experience. Prompt engineering then acts as the ‘code’, directing the AI's power within a framework designed to guide its generative capabilities.
Model Design provides the strategic human layer that establishes the core 'thought' behind the AI agent, driving its intended purpose and shaping the overall learning experience.
Prompt Engineering constructs the framework that governs the custom AI agent, shaping the AI's behavior and providing organizations with precise control over how their brand, knowledge, and proprietary insights are delivered within the AI Agent.
How AI Agents Connect to Learning
AI agents are designed to enhance learning in ways that matter:
Tutor: AI agents act as personalized educators, providing tailored instruction, guidance, and feedback. They adapt to individual learning needs, identify knowledge gaps, and offer support to ensure a deeper understanding of core concepts. This mirrors the personalized coaching described in the Khanmigo example, helping learners find answers and reinforcing knowledge.
Assistant: AI agents serve as learning companions, accelerating onboarding by providing readily available information and support. They help learners navigate learning materials, answer questions, and reinforce foundational knowledge, acting as an "assisting intelligence" to streamline the learning journey and provide context.
Simulate: AI agents create interactive and realistic learning environments where individuals can actively practice skills and apply knowledge without real-world risks. This includes role-playing scenarios that model human interaction and virtual simulations that allow experimentation and learning from consequences, as highlighted in the case study of the AI coaching agent.
Curate: AI agents actively foster learner curiosity by sifting through vast amounts of information to present relevant content in a meaningful way. They help learners connect new knowledge to existing understanding, uncover deeper insights, and develop critical thinking skills by providing context and guiding exploration, addressing the challenge of "knowledge without trust" and the need for structured ways to contextualize.
The Future of Agentic Learning
An answer without a question, instruction without context, and knowledge without trust amount to little more than white noise in a learner’s mind. Now, imagine pausing an audiobook and having the author’s AI voice respond to your question in real time. Or picture an onboarding experience where new employees receive a virtual introduction from founders like Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, or Bill Gates. This is the promise of agentic learning—AI-driven education that adapts, supports, and guides learners in real time. AI should not replace human instruction but serve as an assisting intelligence, reinforcing knowledge through structured, meaningful engagement. As David Brooks recently pointed out, students from higher-income backgrounds are often three to four grade levels ahead of their peers.[8] Systems like Khanmigo, AI-powered tutoring, could help bridge this gap, just as corporate learning could use AI to power new levels of onboarding, experience, and knowledge development. AI, as an assisting intelligence, can level the playing field for employees without formal degrees and expand the economy and workforce.
To build this future, organizations must invest in AI learning agents that:
Guide learners through interactive experiences
Reinforce knowledge with real-world applications
Adapt dynamically to individual learning needs
Case Study: AI Coaching Agent
In a recent project, we developed an AI-powered coaching agent designed to complement human-led seminars and coursework on the art of influence. Built on a structured coaching framework, this AI agent was trained to follow a prescribed methodology, ensuring that every interaction and response aligned with proven coaching principles. It allowed learners to not only engage with expert-driven guidance but also practice applying these methods to real challenges they faced. The AI agent:
Followed a structured coaching methodology to ensure consistency and depth in guidance.
Guided learners through structured problem-solving within a custom knowledge framework.
Created interactive simulations that enabled real-world practice.
Provided personalized feedback tailored to the learner’s individual challenges.
Modeled human interaction, making learning more dynamic and engaging.
By embedding AI within a coaching framework, we moved beyond generic eLearning, creating an interactive and transformative learning experience that bridges knowledge with real-world application.
What’s Next?
AI is here, and learning must evolve. Over the past two years, we’ve explored AI-driven learning models, and this June, we’ll be launching our next book Practical AI Style: The AI Elements of Style. Essential Elements for Building Your Own AI Style Guide —along with an AI agent designed to bring its insights into practice. The AI Agent acts as an interactive workbook to help organizations implement these strategies, turning theory into action and navigating the AI revolution with style and control.
If you want to understand the path that led me to this book, check out my first book, Assisting Intelligence: How to Build Authenticity in the Age of AI for a primer on what it means to embrace AI while keeping creative control and staying authentic. Exploring AI and writing, I learned a lot from writing that book, especially that what I should have written is the next one.
Want to assist or be part of the assistance? Sign up for early access and testing. The future of learning isn’t just automation—it’s intelligence, adaptation, and true engagement.
And we’re just getting started. Ancora Imparo!
References:
[1] One of the best examples of how modern learning, especially online learning will endure is because of the expertise and passion that is conveyed by the instructors. An AI will never replicate this.[https://www.masterclass.com]
[2] Why Smart Companies Are Granting AI Immunity to Their Employees Published by Built In on March 04, 2025. [https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-amnesty-program?]
[3] CEOs feel insecure about their AI strategy, AI CEO says Published by Business Insider on March 11, 2025. [
https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-insecure-about-ai-strategy-2025-3]
[4] Powerful A.I. Is Coming. We’re Not Ready. Published by New York Times on March 14, 2025. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/technology/why-im-feeling-the-agi.html?]
[5] Sorry if this came as a spoiler.
[6] Salman Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, weighs in on the transformative power of artificial intelligence in Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing). The book serves as a compelling read for those invested in the future of learning, from teachers and parents to the students themselves. For those tasked with overseeing or deploying AI within organizations, Mr. Khan’s analysis offers a masterclass in adopting a long-term, institutional view of a General Purpose Technology. He underscores the critical considerations for organizational strategy, brand equity, and individuals served when integrating such disruptive forces. With education a shared experience for consumers and former students alike, the book delivers an uplifting message of potential abundance. Credit is due to OpenAI for its foresight in partnering with Khan Academy and Mr. Khan to pilot this transformative technology.
[7] For over a month I have been experimenting with Tony Robbins's AI app available for Apple and Google devices. The App’s voice recognition and interactions in the voice of Robbins's provide a framework for discussion on topics of my choosing and to receive input and ideas from the AI. For more information visit [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tony-robbins/id6740523783].
[8] Watch David Brooks's speech at “How the Elite rigged Society (and why it’s falling apart)” | David Brooks. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSa52TR9tCA]
Image Credit: The VR-Viewmaster was a creation from photoshop combining two Unsplash images. I don't believe despite advances in recent abilities, AI can replicate digital art nor can it give appropriate credit. (Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash and Photo by Bram Van Oost on Unsplash)