This year, the iSpring team attended ATD 2026 in Los Angeles to better understand the challenges L&D teams are facing today and how those conversations are changing.
Over several days, we spoke with learning leaders, instructional designers, training managers, consultants, and HR teams at the iSpring booth, during sessions, and at community meetups. We also hosted conversations about L&D ROI and practical ways teams are trying to connect learning to business outcomes.
We kept hearing the same things: teams have fewer resources, tighter timelines, more questions from leadership, and new concerns about how to use AI responsibly.
And honestly, the conversations felt much more grounded this year. Less “future of learning” and more:
How do we onboard frontline employees faster? How do we train people who never sit behind a computer? How do we show leadership that training credibly improves performance? How do we use AI safely without creating compliance problems? Here are the biggest themes we saw at ATD 2026.
1. Frontline training is becoming a major priority If you work in L&D, especially in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, hospitality, or logistics, this probably won’t surprise you: frontline training came up everywhere at ATD.
Many companies are struggling with shortages of skilled operational workers, including technicians, electricians, machine operators, healthcare staff, field employees, and supervisors. At the same time, businesses are still expected to grow quickly and onboard people faster.
As a result, L&D teams are increasingly responsible not just for learning programs, but for helping employees become productive as quickly as possible.
One thing we heard repeatedly from manufacturing companies:
“We don’t need more courses. We need people ready to do the job faster.”
That changes the training requirements significantly.
Teams are looking for:
mobile-first learning multilingual training simpler onboarding offline access and easier ways for subject matter experts to share knowledge That hit especially close to home for teams training large frontline workforces across regions and languages.
2. AI conversations became much more grounded AI is still one of the biggest topics in L&D – but the tone around it has changed noticeably.
Last year, many teams were still experimenting. At ATD 2026, the conversations were more specific:
Which tools can actually be approved internally? How do we protect company data? How do we manage governance and permissions? Where does AI genuinely save time for L&D teams? Interestingly, several people told us they still personally prefer ChatGPT or Claude for ease of use. But in larger organizations, Microsoft Copilot is often easier to approve because it meets existing security and compliance requirements.
If you work in enterprise L&D, you’ve probably seen similar discussions already. AI adoption is no longer just a learning decision. It’s tied closely to IT, security, and legal teams.
That’s also changing how LMS and authoring platforms are evaluated. Buyers are asking more questions about:
data handling deployment options auditability permissions and governance controls In other words, companies aren’t only asking: “What can AI generate?”
They’re also asking: “Can we use it safely at scale?”
3. ROI pressure is becoming part of everyday L&D work ROI came up constantly during the conference.
Many L&D teams are under growing pressure to explain how learning affects business performance, especially in organizations with lean teams and tighter budgets.
If you work in L&D, you’ve probably seen this already. Completion rates and learning hours often aren’t enough when leadership asks:
Did onboarding become faster? Did performance improve? Did errors decrease? Did training help the business move faster? One conversation during a meetup stood out to us: an L&D team at a mid-sized company described how two people were supporting the entire learning function while also being asked to prove measurable business impact.
4. Learning systems are being evaluated more carefully Another interesting shift: organizations are paying much closer attention to the operational side of learning platforms.
Several conversations moved beyond course creation and focused on:
integrations governance deployment models reporting security and compliance For some organizations, cloud hosting alone is no longer enough. Teams are asking more questions about:
private cloud stricter governance regional data requirements and deployment flexibility Content still matters. But learning platforms are increasingly expected to fit into broader operational and IT environments.
5. Leadership training is becomng more practical and adaptive Leadership sessions at ATD focused heavily on change, uncertainty, and adaptability.
Many sessions moved past traditional “soft skills” conversations and focused on how managers can lead teams during constant operational and technological change, especially as AI becomes part of everyday work.
Topics like emotional intelligence and self-awareness still came up often, but in a much more concrete context:
managing uncertainty supporting stressed teams leading operational staff and navigating constant change Frontline leadership also received a lot of attention.
One idea we heard several times:
If companies need thousands of skilled frontline workers, they’ll also need managers who can coach them effectively.
That’s creating more demand for scalable leadership training for supervisors and middle managers, not only executives.
6. AI simulations and practice-based learning are growing quickly Another noticeable trend was the growing interest in AI simulations and scenario-based learning.
Many teams are moving away from passive learning content and toward practice:
difficult conversations customer interactions troubleshooting compliance scenarios and coaching simulations The reason is simple: organizations care more about whether employees can apply knowledge in real situations, not only whether they completed a course.
Several sessions showed how companies are experimenting with:
AI roleplays, personalized feedback, practice simulations, and AI coaching assistants. This trend also connects closely to ROI. Simulations give teams clearer ways to measure progress and readiness, especially during onboarding and enablement.
7. Fast-growing companies want learning programs that scale without slowing people down In conversations with L&D leaders at high-growth companies, one challenge kept coming up: balancing structure with speed.
These teams need:
faster onboarding scalable enablement measurable results and operational consistency They also can’t afford heavy processes that slow everyone down.
One learning leader put it simply:
“If every new process creates friction, the business stops moving.”
That’s why many smaller L&D teams are looking for tools and workflows that are easier to maintain, easier to scale, and faster to update.
8. Skills-based learning continues to evolve Skills-based learning remains a major long-term trend, especially as jobs continue to change quickly.
Many sessions focused on:
reskilling upskilling competency tracking and identifying skill gaps more accurately What felt different this year was the focus on specific business needs.
The conversation is moving away from abstract “future skills” and toward questions like:
Which skills are missing today? How quickly can employees learn them? How do we track progress realistically? How do we adapt training as roles change? Several speakers also discussed how AI may help personalize learning paths and identify capability gaps faster, though many teams still seem to be figuring out what works.
Final thoughts ATD 2026 felt very grounded in real operational challenges. The conversations were less about producing more learning content and more about helping people perform better in changing environments.
For L&D teams, this likely means balancing two priorities at once: moving faster while also becoming more measurable.
The organizations attracting the most attention at ATD weren’t necessarily the ones creating the most content. They were the ones finding ways to connect learning to everyday work, operational goals, and employee performance.
Finally, while organizations continue to invest in upskilling and reskilling, many leaders recognize that learning doesn’t happen through training content alone. Professional communities such as the iSpring Learning Exchange and industry events help people learn from peers, share experiences, and stay current with new ideas and best practices. As skills become a key competitive advantage, building opportunities for ongoing learning and knowledge sharing is just as important as creating effective training programs. Finally, while organizations invest heavily in upskilling and reskilling, many leaders acknowledge that capability building doesn’t happen through content alone. Communities such as the iSpring Learning Exchange , along with events like ATD, the Association for Talent Development, help reinforce learning, provide peer support, encourage knowledge sharing, and create the conditions for continuous development. As skills become a key competitive advantage, fostering strong learning communities may be just as important as designing effective learning programs.
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