Reimagining Workplace Learning With AI
Like many mid-sized organizations, we faced a challenge: how to modernize our learning infrastructure without simply digitizing outdated content. Our legacy learning processes were fragmented, hard to scale, and didn’t support the needs of a rapidly growing, international workforce. That’s when we made a bold move: we reimagined what a Learning Management System (LMS) could be. Instead of just upgrading software, we built an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered learning ecosystem that aligned with our business strategy, empowered employees, and embedded learning directly into the flow of work.
We named the initiative CHLOE: our internal Hub for Learning, Opportunities, and Empowerment. In this article, I’ll share our approach, lessons learned, and why this model may represent the future of workplace learning.
From LMS To AI-Powered Learning Ecosystem
Traditional LMS platforms are often compliance-focused, difficult to navigate, and disconnected from daily work. We didn’t want that. We envisioned a system that would:
- Support personalized learning journeys.
- Provide just-in-time knowledge assistance.
- Scale across teams and countries.
- Empower managers as much as learners.
- Leverage AI to enhance User Experience and relevance.
After evaluating several platforms, we selected one with AI at its core. What stood out was its ability to offer natural language search, personalized recommendations, and contextual content delivery, all within a sleek, intuitive interface.
Strategic Goals Behind The AI-Powered Learning Ecosystem Platform
CHLOE was never just an IT project. It was designed to directly support three strategic pillars:
- International expansion
We needed consistent onboarding and training across borders. - Innovation enablement
Our teams work with constantly evolving technologies; they need learning that can keep pace. - Scalable, standardized delivery
We wanted to avoid reinventing training every time a new team or client project launched.
We also saw this as a way to shift L&D’s role from content distributor to strategic enabler of culture, capability, and growth.
Our Implementation Approach (What Worked)
Here’s how we rolled out CHLOE in four deliberate phases:
1. Discovery And Planning
- We ran a full content audit to identify redundancies and gaps.
- Success metrics were defined up-front (e.g., time to productivity, course completion, manager feedback)
- Key stakeholders were identified across HR, IT, business units, and leadership.
2. Pilot And System Configuration
- We launched a pilot with staff from a newly acquired company.
- All onboarding happened within CHLOE; no external email chains or PDFs.
- Feedback from users and managers shaped the final configuration.
3. Content Transformation
- Over 50 legacy resources were rebuilt as interactive modules using an AI-enhanced authoring tool.
- Multilingual support and accessibility were incorporated into every asset.
- Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) cocreated content alongside Instructional Designers.
4. Go-Live And Change Management
- Mandatory training on our new internal platform was delivered to all staff.
- Internal campaigns, leadership videos, and peer-led recommendations helped drive adoption.
- Usage dashboards provided real-time visibility into completion and engagement.
Early Results That Mattered
The platform quickly demonstrated value beyond expectations:
- Onboarding
87% of pilot users completed onboarding on time, reporting faster integration and clearer expectations. - Engagement
82% course completion rate for our first company-wide rollout. - Manager enablement
Team leads used CHLOE’s AI assistant to build onboarding plans, coach team members, and answer process questions. - Culture shift
SMEs began proactively contributing content, and the company-wide perception of L&D changed from “optional” to “essential.”
How AI Made A Difference
What truly sets CHLOE apart is the AI. Here are three standout features that made an impact:
Semantic Search
Employees ask questions like “How do I complete my travel claim?”, and receive relevant, curated responses from training materials, policies, and tools.
Personalized Learning Paths
CHLOE recommends learning based on an employee’s role, interests, and usage patterns, supporting autonomy and engagement.
Real-Time Support
The embedded AI assistant supported learners and managers during work, not just in training sessions. This helped embed learning in the flow of work and increased productivity.
Manager-Facing Smart Guidance
While many AI features are designed with learners in mind, CHLOE’s real strength is its ability to support managers in real time. During testing, we asked the AI a natural language question which included the following: “I’m a manager of a team. I’m onboarding a new team member. What do I need to do to get them up to speed quickly?”
CHLOE generated an actionable, structured onboarding plan that included:
- Recommending tool access and onboarding documentation.
- Enrolling the new hire in platform-specific training modules.
- Suggesting mentoring, shadowing, and check-ins.
- Aligning expectations using structured one-to-ones and feedback prompts.
The response wasn’t just generic advice: it linked to internal guides, suggested specific courses, and even offered a timeline. This feature empowers managers, especially those with limited L&D experience, to provide consistent, high-quality onboarding with minimal support. It was at this moment that we saw the real potential of AI in learning: not just personalization for learners, but enablement for leaders.
Lessons Learned (So Far)
We’re still on this journey, but here are our biggest takeaways:
Treat Learning As A Business System, Not Just HR Infrastructure
Our platform was built with input from operations, IT, sales, and leadership, not just the learning team. The result is a system that supports business processes, team performance, and culture at scale.
AI Is A Decision-Support Partner, Not Just A Delivery Engine
AI helped us scale faster and serve employees better, but its real value came from augmenting human decision-making. The ability for managers to generate onboarding plans, answer operational questions, and coach teams through AI guidance represents a shift from content delivery to strategic enablement.
Frictionless Design Drives Adoption
Forget 45-minute modules. Employees embraced content that was short, searchable, and aligned with real-world needs. Natural language search turned the LMS into a daily tool, not just a training library.
Measure What Matters, And Make It Visible
We track learning impact alongside business objectives and key results (OKRs), including time to productivity, course completions, certification rates, and manager enablement. These metrics help position L&D as a driver of strategic outcomes, not a siloed function.
What’s Next For Our AI-Powered Learning Ecosystem?
CHLOE is just getting started. We’re now exploring:
- AI coaching and mentoring
Features for personalized leadership development. - Predictive analytics
To identify skill gaps before they affect performance, - Closer integration
With tools for in-the-flow learning. - Linking learning activity with business outcomes
Such as client retention and project success, as defined in our OKRs.
Our long-term vision is a fully embedded, AI-enabled learning culture where capability development is seamless, data-driven, and continuous.
Final Thoughts
If your organization is still relying on a traditional LMS, or worse, a patchwork of PDFs, SharePoint folders, and manual processes, it might be time to rethink the role of learning altogether. Building an AI-powered learning ecosystem isn’t just about upgrading technology. It’s about reimagining how learning supports strategy, culture, and performance in a fast-moving world.
We don’t claim to have all the answers. But with CHLOE, we’ve built a learning system that evolves with us, and that, we believe, is the future. Want to learn how we built CHLOE or explore how AI can support your organization’s learning strategy? I’d love to connect.
Let’s Connect
If you’re exploring AI-powered learning strategies or building your own learning ecosystem, I’d love to connect and share ideas. Reach out!