We are in unmapped territory.
This is the clear message from the 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey. Not because any new trend has emerged, but because the old models no longer apply. Artificial intelligence, economic uncertainty, and geopolitical instability combine to create something different: rupture.
The old rules no longer seem to apply.
Artificial intelligence has moved beyond novelty and hype. More than 50% of L&D now uses it (see AI in L&D: Race for Impact in September), but its arrival has done little to ease the pressure on L&D. It has exacerbated it.
When asked about the biggest challenge in 2026, the respondents responded with more than 40,000 words, almost the length of 2026. heart of darkness. The analogy is apt. There is a strong sense of journey into the unknown.
Across regions, there are five main challenges:
- Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Integration
Not just how to use artificial intelligence, but how to use it responsibly, ethically, and effectively—without compromising quality or trust. - Demonstrate value and impact
Move beyond completion rates and satisfaction scores to solid evidence of performance and business impact. - Budget and resource constraints
“Do more with less” remains a familiar refrain, compounded by hiring freezes and wider economic pressures. - Learning engagement and application
Learners are overloaded, short on time and often tired. Ensuring that learning translates into behavioral changes remains difficult. - Change, uncertainty and the new role of L&D
Is L&D a training provider, a performance partner or something else? Identity itself is under scrutiny.
Not surprisingly, many respondents described feeling under pressure. Mentions of “stress” have surged compared to previous years. There is anxiety about redundancy, relevancy, and the loss of “humanity” in learning.
However──this is not a story of paralysis.
In addition to the challenge, we also raised a new question this year: What are you doing now that you didn’t do 12 months ago? The volume and content of the responses was staggering. L&D isn’t standing still. Practitioners are putting artificial intelligence into practice, not just talking about it. They use data more carefully to demonstrate value. They are redesigning learning beyond long-term courses and towards journeys, performance support and practice. They are expanding into coaching, culture and competency systems.
In other words, while we don’t have a map, we do have directions.
Reports suggest that we are entering a phase of change where old norms are being broken down before new ones can be cemented. It’s very uncomfortable. Transformations always happen. But transformation is also where agency lies. The future of L&D is not yet fully formed. It is developed on the fly by practitioners through experimentation, adaptation, and learning from proven methods.
We are mapping this new world ourselves.
There may ultimately be two forms of L&D: one focused on training (increasingly augmented by artificial intelligence) and one more strategic, embedded in organizational capabilities and performance. Whatever the final structure, one thing is clear: the future of L&D will be more aligned with business outcomes than ever before.
The unknown can be scary. But evidence from this year’s survey suggests something more promising. In the face of artificial intelligence disruption and economic pressure, L&D has not backed down. It’s adapting.
In doing so, it is charting a course for the future.
Click to download the 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey.
