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L&D is in a new world, that’s the message of this year’s L&D Global Sentiment Survey. The old rules don’t apply any more, we feel less certain afraid about the future and we face 5 key challenges. But survey respondents are facing up to these challenges by taking action. We are drawing the map of this new world every day, by discovering what works, and building on it.
We are in unmapped territory.
That is the unmistakable message from the 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey. Not because any one new trend has emerged, but because the old patterns no longer hold. Artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty and geopolitical instability have combined to create something different: a rupture.
The old rules don’t seem to apply anymore.
AI has moved beyond novelty and hype. It is now used by over 50% of L&D (see AI in L&D: The Race for Impact from September), but its arrival has not reduced pressure on L&D. It has intensified it.
When asked about their biggest challenges for 2026, respondents replied with over 40,000 words, almost the length of Heart of Darkness. That comparison is apt. There is a strong sense of a journey into the unknown.
Across geographies, five challenges dominate:
- AI adoption and integration
Not just how to use AI, but how to use it responsibly, ethically and effectively – without eroding quality or trust. - Demonstrating value and impact
Moving beyond completion rates and satisfaction scores to credible evidence of performance and business impact. - Budget and resource constraints
“Doing more with less” remains a familiar refrain, compounded by hiring freezes and wider economic strain. - Learning engagement and application
Learners are overloaded, time-poor and often fatigued. Ensuring learning translates into behaviour change remains difficult. - Change, uncertainty and L&D’s new role
Is L&D a training provider, a performance partner, or something else entirely? Identity itself is under review.
It is not surprising that many respondents describe feeling under pressure. References to “pressure” have surged compared to previous years. There is anxiety about redundancy, about relevance, about losing the “human” in learning.
And yet – this is not a story of paralysis.
Alongside the challenges, we asked a new question this year: What are you doing now that you were not doing 12 months ago? The volume and substance of the responses are striking. L&D is not standing still. Practitioners are operationalising AI, not merely discussing it. They are using data more deliberately to demonstrate value. They are redesigning learning beyond long courses towards journeys, performance support and practice. They are expanding into coaching, culture and capability systems.
In other words, while we have no map, we do have a direction.
The report suggests we are entering a transformative phase, where old norms break down before new ones solidify. This is uncomfortable. Transformation always is. But transformation is also where agency lies. The future of L&D is not being handed down fully formed. It is being shaped in real time by practitioners experimenting, adjusting, and learning from what works.
We are drawing the map of this New World ourselves.
There may ultimately be two forms of L&D: one focused on training – increasingly augmented by AI – and another more strategic, embedded in organisational capability and performance. Whatever the eventual structure, one thing is clear: L&D’s future will be more integrated with business outcomes than ever before.
The unknown can feel frightening. But the evidence from this year’s survey suggests something more hopeful. Faced with AI disruption and economic strain, L&D is not retreating. It is adapting.
And by so doing, it is charting the course ahead.
We are in unmapped territory.
That is the unmistakable message from the 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey. Not because any one new trend has emerged, but because the old patterns no longer hold. Artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty and geopolitical instability have combined to create something different: a rupture.
The old rules don’t seem to apply anymore.
AI has moved beyond novelty and hype. It is now used by over 50% of L&D (see AI in L&D: The Race for Impact from September), but its arrival has not reduced pressure on L&D. It has intensified it.
When asked about their biggest challenges for 2026, respondents replied with over 40,000 words, almost the length of Heart of Darkness. That comparison is apt. There is a strong sense of a journey into the unknown.
Across geographies, five challenges dominate:
- AI adoption and integration
Not just how to use AI, but how to use it responsibly, ethically and effectively – without eroding quality or trust. - Demonstrating value and impact
Moving beyond completion rates and satisfaction scores to credible evidence of performance and business impact. - Budget and resource constraints
“Doing more with less” remains a familiar refrain, compounded by hiring freezes and wider economic strain. - Learning engagement and application
Learners are overloaded, time-poor and often fatigued. Ensuring learning translates into behaviour change remains difficult. - Change, uncertainty and L&D’s new role
Is L&D a training provider, a performance partner, or something else entirely? Identity itself is under review.
It is not surprising that many respondents describe feeling under pressure. References to “pressure” have surged compared to previous years. There is anxiety about redundancy, about relevance, about losing the “human” in learning.
And yet – this is not a story of paralysis.
Alongside the challenges, we asked a new question this year: What are you doing now that you were not doing 12 months ago? The volume and substance of the responses are striking. L&D is not standing still. Practitioners are operationalising AI, not merely discussing it. They are using data more deliberately to demonstrate value. They are redesigning learning beyond long courses towards journeys, performance support and practice. They are expanding into coaching, culture and capability systems.
In other words, while we have no map, we do have a direction.
The report suggests we are entering a transformative phase, where old norms break down before new ones solidify. This is uncomfortable. Transformation always is. But transformation is also where agency lies. The future of L&D is not being handed down fully formed. It is being shaped in real time by practitioners experimenting, adjusting, and learning from what works.
We are drawing the map of this New World ourselves.
There may ultimately be two forms of L&D: one focused on training – increasingly augmented by AI – and another more strategic, embedded in organisational capability and performance. Whatever the eventual structure, one thing is clear: L&D’s future will be more integrated with business outcomes than ever before.
The unknown can feel frightening. But the evidence from this year’s survey suggests something more hopeful. Faced with AI disruption and economic strain, L&D is not retreating. It is adapting.
And by so doing, it is charting the course ahead.
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