{"id":46480,"date":"2026-06-05T19:45:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/?p=46480"},"modified":"2026-06-05T20:48:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:48:08","slug":"atd-2026-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/atd-2026-trends-report","title":{"rendered":"ATD 2026 Trends Report: What L&amp;D Teams Are Actually Focused on"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year, the iSpring team attended ATD 2026 in Los Angeles to better understand the challenges L&amp;D teams are facing today and how those conversations are changing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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&amp;D ROI and practical ways teams are trying to connect learning to business outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/maria-starling-atd.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-46486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/maria-starling-atd-1024x608.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"608\" \/><\/a>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And honestly, the conversations felt much more grounded this year. Less \u201cfuture of learning\u201d and more:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we onboard frontline employees faster?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we train people who never sit behind a computer?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we show leadership that training credibly improves performance?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we use AI safely without creating compliance problems?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are the biggest themes we saw at ATD 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">1. Frontline training is becoming a major priority<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you work in L&amp;D, especially in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, hospitality, or logistics, this probably won\u2019t surprise you: frontline training came up everywhere at ATD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a result, L&amp;D teams are increasingly responsible not just for learning programs, but for helping employees become productive as quickly as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One thing we heard repeatedly from manufacturing companies:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe don\u2019t need more courses. We need people ready to do the job faster.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That changes the training requirements significantly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teams are looking for:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">mobile-first learning<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">multilingual training<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">simpler onboarding<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">offline access<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and easier ways for subject matter experts to share knowledge<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That hit especially close to home for teams training large frontline workforces across regions and languages.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">2. AI conversations became much more grounded<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AI is still one of the biggest topics in L&amp;D \u2013 but the tone around it has changed noticeably.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year, many teams were still experimenting. At ATD 2026, the conversations were more specific:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which tools can actually be approved internally?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we protect company data?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we manage governance and permissions?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Where does AI genuinely save time for L&amp;D teams?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you work in enterprise L&amp;D, you\u2019ve probably seen similar discussions already. AI adoption is no longer just a learning decision. It\u2019s tied closely to IT, security, and legal teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s also changing how LMS and authoring platforms are evaluated. Buyers are asking more questions about:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">data handling<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">deployment options<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">auditability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">permissions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and governance controls<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In other words, companies aren\u2019t only asking:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhat can AI generate?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They\u2019re also asking:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cCan we use it safely at scale?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">3. ROI pressure is becoming part of everyday L&amp;D work<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ROI came up constantly during the conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many L&amp;D teams are under growing pressure to explain how learning affects business performance, especially in organizations with lean teams and tighter budgets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you work in L&amp;D, you\u2019ve probably seen this already. Completion rates and learning hours often aren\u2019t enough when leadership asks:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Did onboarding become faster?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Did performance improve?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Did errors decrease?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Did training help the business move faster?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One conversation during a meetup stood out to us: an L&amp;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">4. Learning systems are being evaluated more carefully<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another interesting shift: organizations are paying much closer attention to the operational side of learning platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several conversations moved beyond course creation and focused on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">integrations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">governance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">deployment models<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reporting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">security<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and compliance<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For some organizations, cloud hosting alone is no longer enough. Teams are asking more questions about:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">private cloud<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">stricter governance<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">regional data requirements<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and deployment flexibility<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Content still matters. But learning platforms are increasingly expected to fit into broader operational and IT environments.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">5. Leadership training is becomng more practical and adaptive<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Leadership sessions at ATD focused heavily on change, uncertainty, and adaptability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many sessions moved past traditional \u201csoft skills\u201d conversations and focused on how managers can lead teams during constant operational and technological change, especially as AI becomes part of everyday work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Topics like emotional intelligence and self-awareness still came up often, but in a much more concrete context:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">managing uncertainty<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">supporting stressed teams<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">leading operational staff<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and navigating constant change<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Frontline leadership also received a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">lot<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of attention.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One idea we heard several times:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If companies need thousands of skilled frontline workers, they\u2019ll also need managers who can coach them effectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s creating more demand for scalable leadership training for supervisors and middle managers, not only executives.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">6. AI simulations and practice-based learning are growing quickly<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another noticeable trend was the growing interest in AI simulations and scenario-based learning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many teams are moving away from passive learning content and toward practice:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">difficult conversations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">customer interactions<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">troubleshooting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">compliance scenarios<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and coaching simulations<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The reason is simple: organizations care more about whether employees can apply knowledge in real situations, not only whether they completed a course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Several sessions showed how companies are experimenting with:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AI roleplays,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">personalized feedback,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">practice simulations,<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and AI coaching assistants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This trend also connects closely to ROI. Simulations give teams clearer ways to measure progress and readiness, especially during onboarding and enablement.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">7. Fast-growing companies want learning programs that scale without slowing people down<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In conversations with L&amp;D leaders at high-growth companies, one challenge kept coming up: balancing structure with speed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These teams need:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">faster onboarding<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">scalable enablement<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">measurable results<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and operational consistency<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">They also can\u2019t afford heavy processes that slow everyone down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One learning leader put it simply:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIf every new process creates friction, the business stops moving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That\u2019s why many smaller L&amp;D teams are looking for tools and workflows that are easier to maintain, easier to scale, and faster to update.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">8. Skills-based learning continues to evolve<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Skills-based learning remains a major long-term trend, especially as jobs continue to change quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many sessions focused on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reskilling<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">upskilling<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">competency tracking<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">and identifying skill gaps more accurately<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What felt different this year was the focus on specific business needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The conversation is moving away from abstract \u201cfuture skills\u201d and toward questions like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which skills are missing today?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How quickly can employees learn them?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we track progress realistically?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How do we adapt training as roles change?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1sygcmw\" data-start=\"6456\" data-end=\"6495\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For L&amp;D teams, this likely means balancing two priorities at once:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">moving faster while also becoming more measurable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The organizations attracting the most attention at ATD weren\u2019t necessarily the ones creating the most content. They were the ones finding ways to connect learning to everyday work, operational goals, and employee performance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Finally, while organizations continue to invest in upskilling and reskilling, many leaders recognize that learning doesn&#8217;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.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Finally, while organizations invest heavily in upskilling and reskilling, many leaders acknowledge that capability building doesn\u2019t happen through content alone. Communities such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/12786108\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">iSpring Learning Exchange<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, 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.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span data-sheets-root=\"1\"><div class=\"product-inside-article product-inside-article_learn\">\n    <div class=\"product-inside-article__text-wrapper product-inside-article__text-wrapper_learn\">\n        <div class=\"product-inside-article__header product-inside-article__header_learn\">\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/trial?ref=blog-banner\" class=\"product-inside-article__header-link product-inside-article__header-link_learn\" target=\"_blank\">iSpring LMS<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"product-inside-article__text product-inside-article__text_learn\">for your mission-critical project<\/div>\n        <div class=\"product-inside-article__button-wrapper\">\n            <a class=\"product-inside-article__button product-inside-article__button_article b-button__learn-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/trial?ref=blog-banner\" target=\"_blank\">Try for free<\/a>\n            <a class=\"product-inside-article__link b-link_learn-more_white\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com?ref=blog-banner\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"b-link_learn-more_white__text\">Learn more<\/span><span class=\"b-link_learn-more_white__arrow\"> &rarr;<\/span><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <a class=\"product-inside-article__image-wrapper product-inside-article__image-wrapper_article product-inside-article__image-wrapper_learn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com?ref=blog-banner\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"iSpring LMS\">\n        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"258\" height=\"335\" class=\"product-inside-article__image product-inside-article__image_article\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-content\/themes\/ispring-blog-flat-bootstrap\/images\/float_block\/lms-banner.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-content\/themes\/ispring-blog-flat-bootstrap\/images\/float_block\/lms-banner-x2.webp\" alt=\"\"\/>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year, the iSpring team attended ATD 2026 in Los Angeles to better understand the challenges L&amp;D teams are facing&hellip; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/atd-2026-trends-report\" >Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13371340,"featured_media":46488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[302],"tags":[328],"resource-type":[],"class_list":["post-46480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ai-in-elearning"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":42,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13371340"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46480"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46502,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46480\/revisions\/46502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46480"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ispring.com\/knowledge-hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type?post=46480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}