Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing—and will continue to change—the way companies design, deliver, and measure online learning.
eLearning AI is customizing learning experiences with greater accuracy, automating administrative tasks, giving instant feedback to learners, and virtually mentoring them. But it’s also generating content, offering targeted support to struggling learners, automating assessment grading, and making learning more accessible.
With all that, the use of AI in eLearning is contributing to making eLearning faster to develop and implement, but most importantly, more effective.
And in this article, we’ll tell you more about how you can combine eLearning and AI at your company and whether you should choose an off-the-shelf AI-based eLearning solution or customize your own.
What is AI in eLearning?
AI in eLearning is the use of artificial intelligence to improve online learning experiences.
Unlike pre-AI learning management systems or pre-AI online courses, AI-based eLearning solutions adapt to the learner’s progress and are customized to their goals, skills, career path, and other variables.
They offer real-time learner feedback and virtual mentoring, as well as automate various aspects of course design, assessments, and training administration. And as the cherry on top of the cake, AI-powered eLearning provides customized support to learners facing more difficulties and makes courses more accessible.
Common forms of AI for eLearning include
Generative AI—to create online content, quizzes, and supplemental learning resources automatically
Adaptive learning engines—to adapt courses in real-time based on the learner’s performance
Smart recommendation systems—to suggest courses, training modules, or learning materials in real-time based on the learner’s performance, career goals, job requirements, employee performance, and the type of content they engage with more frequently
Natural language processing—to create chatbots capable of having interactive conversations as virtual mentors and giving immediate answers to learners’ questions
6 ways AI is changing eLearning for enterprises
AI in eLearning is having an impact on varied industries. But regardless of the industry, eLearning AI has an above-human capability to gather data and use it to personalize individual learning experiences. And what’s most impressive is that it aligns those experiences with business goals and supports learners throughout the learning process.
1. Personalized learning paths
One-size-fits-all eLearning is becoming obsolete. And personalized learning, which is customized to each learner and adapts to their progress, can increase course completion by 30%.
So, AI came into play to take personalized learning one step further, enabling you to customize with greater accuracy.
The technology assesses the learner’s profile—their individual interests, performance data, and learning preferences—takes into consideration the learner’s goals, skills, and career path, and designs learning experiences that match those criteria precisely.
2. Intelligent content creation
Generative AI for eLearning can draft training modules, quizzes, case studies, supplemental learning resources, and simulations in a fraction of the time.
And even if learning experience designers (LXDs) need to refine the generated content, it takes less time than it would in the traditional way. And as a result, LXDs have more time to focus on the eLearning strategy behind the content.
3. Smarter learner support
AI teaching assistants provide real-time learner support—24/7.
They answer questions, explain difficult concepts, and guide learners through complex problem-solving (in chemistry or math, for instance).
An example of such a teaching assistant is Codio’s Coach for computer programming education, which breaks complex tasks into smaller steps, summarizes requirements, and suggests next steps to help aspiring programmers learn by themselves.
But here’s what’s interesting: AI teaching assistants also encourage learners to monitor and self-evaluate their learning progress, which not only increases the learners’ confidence in what they learned but also allows them to identify gaps in their competencies and adjust the way they study accordingly.
4. Predictive analytics for proactive intervention
AI algorithms can identify which learners are struggling so much that they’re at risk of falling behind. And they do that based on metrics such as time spent on training modules, unit completion rates, learning assessment scores, participation in discussions, and use of learning resources.
By catching that early on, AI algorithms enable you to proactively and more effectively target learner support. That’s how you offer one-on-one mentoring or simply extra learning activities to the learners who need it most.
And as a result, you minimize those learners’ frustration of wanting to move on in their learning journey and yet not being able to (sometimes to the point of abandoning the process altogether).
5. Automated assessments and feedback
AI can automatically grade training assessments and provide learners with instant feedback on various topics and assessment types.
For instance, AI for eLearning can evaluate open-ended answers that learners write while taking online courses. And it doesn’t get tired of doing it—it can grade and give detailed feedback time and time and time again.
This means your learners retain knowledge better—after all, there’s nothing better than making a learner’s mistake, without real consequences, and receiving instant feedback on how we could have done it better.
But automated grading and immediate feedback also mean that you can deliver training programs at scale without compromising quality.
6. Enhanced learning accessibility
AI translates content to fit the learner’s region, adds captions to videos, and describes videos in text. But it also reads text aloud for auditory learners and personalizes learning paths to deliver learning experiences that meet different learner needs.
For instance, an eLearning platform, when powered with eLearning AI, can tell when a learner is struggling with a difficult concept and, in response, show more examples or offer more resources to help them understand the concept in additional ways.
When integrating eLearning and AI in your corporate training strategy, you can go two ways: use off-the-shelf solutions or invest in custom solution development.
Off-the-shelf eLearning solutions are faster to deploy and often cost-effective. But they tend to fall short of deep alignment with your business goals and organizational culture.
On the other hand, custom eLearning solutions are customized to your business goals and organizational culture as well as your employees’ goals, skills, career path, and other factors. And on top of that, custom solutions integrate more tightly with your existing systems and offer more control over training content and learning experience design (LXD).
The third option would be custom AI-based eLearning solutions, which combine the best of custom eLearning solutions with eLearning AI.
However, we know LXD is the foundation of effective training, whether there’s AI in the panorama or not. And that’s why, as much as you might choose AI-based eLearning solutions to benefit from the perks of AI for eLearning, you’ll still need to provide context and goals to the technology so it customizes solutions that are truly effective for your company.
Luckily, our custom eLearning development solutions rely on technology that enables the change you wish to see in your workforce and the business.
What’s next: The human role in AI-powered eLearning
Whereas AI is revolutionizing digital learning, human expertise remains essential. Instructional designers, SMEs, and L&D leaders guide the “why” and “how” behind the content, ensuring learning experiences are ethical, inclusive, and aligned with business strategy.
In fact, the future of AI in eLearning is about augmenting human capacity instead of replacing humans altogether. When AI handles repetitive tasks and provides data-driven insights, human trainers can focus on high-value activities like mentoring, coaching, and strategic innovation.
Ready to take your learning programs to the next level with AI? We help organizations like yours implement AI that works—with measurable outcomes, scalable delivery, and strategic support. Contact us today to speak with a learning strategist.
