Organisations moving beyond AI adoption to focus on real impact, report reveals

Organisations are now moving beyond simply adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and are focusing on how to use it for real impact, according to the Future of L&D 2026 report from Access Learning. 

The report stated that real progress will require a focus on performance and working closely with businesses to identify needs and align learning to outcomes.

Andy Lancaster, chief learning officer at Reimagine People Development, said: “Previously, the conversation was how do we adopt AI safely, or what tools can we use, and how can we test those. 

“Now it’s moving far more to how AI can measurably improve performance. It’s not about layering AI onto existing processes; it’s about redesigning those processes so AI sits at the heart of them.

“We’ve seen a slight kick back to AI literacy training: there was a push to train everybody up in basic AI skills, but we’re now recognising that it’s too generic, and doesn’t really influence performance.”

Lancaster added: “There’s much more thinking now around ensuring AI is contextual, as AI knowledge alone is not enough.”

Tom McDowell, founder and principal consultant at Evolve, said: “Without a clear performance problem to anchor the technology, AI becomes a solution searching for a question – and that’s where you see the pattern of generating more content nobody needs, slightly faster than before.”

Sarah Mian, director of learning content at Access Learning, said: “There’s become this instinct now where people are asking, ‘Is that AI-generated?’, and the minute they think it is, it suddenly becomes less valuable.”