Marvin OnumonuResearch by Insights Learning and Development with the Association for Talent Development (ATD) found a huge gap between what learners want and what they get from digital learning and development.
Most learners said personalisation is important, with 94% saying they value it and 64% saying it is extremely important.
Only 32% of digital learning was personalised.
Nearly half of learners picked live, instructor-led classroom training as their preferred way to learn, with 56% saying it works best.
Motivation, trust and psychological safety were all higher with a skilled facilitator and 84% of learners said they paid more attention in live sessions.
Only 16% said asynchronous digital learning motivated them a great deal, making it the lowest rated format for learner motivation.
Many organisations still focused on scale and efficiency over learner experience.
Ross Esplin, product and innovation director at Insights Learning and Development, said: “It is clear that personalisation – whether in face-to-face or digital learning – has moved from a ‘nice to have’ to a strategic imperative.
“It is strongly linked to motivation, confidence and learning transfer. However, we also found that most digital learning experiences remain one-size-fits-all.
“As L&D looks further into 2026, the challenge is no longer choosing between digital and human learning but designing the right combination of both: scalable where it must be, personal where it matters most, and always anchored in trust, motivation, psychological safety and meaningful human connection.”
Two thirds of training professionals agreed that measuring completion rates, participation and satisfaction was important for all types of learning.
Fewer prioritised measuring behaviour change, business impact or HR outcomes, showing a gap in measurement.
Dr Tanya Boyd from Insights said: “ROI has always been a challenge. The next generation of metrics must capture changes in self-awareness and behaviour, not just completion rates.”
Training professionals were more likely to say collecting metrics for human-led learning was very important, compared to digital or blended learning.
The research also looked at artificial intelligence (AI) in learning.
Two thirds of organisations now offer learner-facing AI tools for adaptive pathways, skills-gap analysis and real-time feedback.
Human-led training still scored higher for trust and motivation.
About 22% of learners said they did not have enough access to the tech needed for digital learning.
Esplin said: “Blended learning emerges as a promising bridge between personalisation and scale, but its effectiveness depends on thoughtful design, learner readiness and equitable access to technology.”
