--- title: Reflections on Learning Technologies 2025 description: "Patrick Kayton on Learning Technologies: AI dominates, but most vendors focus on content over outcomes. Discover why this is a critical mistake." image: https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/AI%20AI%20everywhere-3.png --- [![Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/logodark-1.svg "Activate Behavior Change")](https://www.cognician.com) - About Us - [Clients](https://info.cognician.com/clients) - [Security & Privacy](https://info.cognician.com/security-and-privacy) - [Our Team](https://info.cognician.com/our-team) - [Careers](https://info.cognician.com/cognician-careers) - [Contact Us](https://info.cognician.com/contact-us) - Our Approach - [Methodology](https://info.cognician.com/methodology) - [Features](https://info.cognician.com/features) - [Gamification](https://info.cognician.com/gamification) - Activation - [Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/quest-collection) - [Activation Workshops](https://info.cognician.com/activation-workshops) - [Activation Courses](https://info.cognician.com/activation-foundations-certification-program) - Activate AI Adoption - [Copilot M365 Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/drive-microsoft-copilot-adoption) - [Copilot Agent Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/drive-ai-agent-adoption-with-cognicians-proven-change-platform) - [Copilot Chat Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/how-to-activate-copilot-adoption-and-empower-employees-to-work-smarter) - Resources - [Transformation Tactics](https://info.cognician.com/transformation-tactics) - [Research](https://info.cognician.com/resources) - [Thought Leadership](https://info.cognician.com/blog) - [Press](https://info.cognician.com/press-releases) - [Webinars](https://info.cognician.com/cognician-webinars) - [Log in](https://www.cognician.com/login) - [Book a Call](https://info.cognician.com/book-a-call) ![AI AI everywhere-2](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/AI%20AI%20everywhere-2.png) [Back to Blog](https://blog.cognician.com) # Reflections on Learning Technologies 2025 Patrick Kayton 28 April 2025 - - [Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/blog/topic/activate-behavior-change) - - *Patrick Kayton, Cognician CEO, reflects on the Learning Technologies Exhibition in London. His conclusion? AI is everywhere, but most vendors are making the same fundamental mistake.*  Every year I attend the Learning Technologies Exhibition in London with the intention of seeing what everyone’s up to in the world of corporate learning. It’s an opportunity to learn from others and be inspired by what our L&D colleagues have built. And it’s a great way to get a sense of what our clients will expect from us, based on what is becoming standard in digital learning offerings.   This year my take-away was simple: AI is everywhere and it’s what our clients will now expect. It was a headline feature on practically every stand I visited. And as Josh Bersin pointed out ahead of the conference, [AI is enabling an L&D revolution](https://www.learningtechnologies.co.uk/blog/long-awaited-revolution-corporate-learning?source=email&utm_campaign=AprilNewsletter&utm_medium=HubSpot&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8qI5FlS2H1uvvZGmbIkQMpUriRdCnev46c4oQ-g2sGFrW8iW8J3tyDRd5j1Xd_9ilJLgK8Gsq-rkur-L45wbewXKC-mQ&_hsmi=107938593).   But there’s still something missing. And nearly every vendor is making the same fundamental mistake. The same mistake underpinning the failure of the last 30 years of computer-based training, LMSs and LXPs. The mistake is that they’re all focusing on content, content, content.And there’s barely a word about something far more important: outcomes.   As I passed stand after stand, I saw the same headlines:   - AI-generated courses - AI-generated content - AI translations   Now let me first say that on the subject of translations I am really excited about what AI represents. I was genuinely impressed by at least one seamless automatic, in-platform translation and the tooling to manage it. This will save a lot of time and money in L&D. Our multinational clients spend a fortune on translations and this progress will change the game. Bravo!   But when it comes to AI-generated courses and content, I facepalm. All this will do is make it possible for L&D teams to do the same job they’re doing now, just faster and cheaper. More content will not help people in organisations to be more skilful. It will just mean more bloated LMSs.   What I had hoped to see were innovative uses of AI that enabled behaviour change in line with business outcomes. And sure, there were a few promising solutions. But before I go into those, we should explore an important question. How is it possible that AI can be revolutionising L&D, but without paying attention to outcomes? The answer is that most of the L&D practitioners we meet are not focused on outcomes because they are not measured on outcomes. They’re measured on completions and on learner satisfaction. They certainly care about outcomes. But there is little impetus to collect data on real business impact that results from a change in behaviour.   So why this focus on content rather than outcomes? The reason is that tracking completions is an easy problem to solve. It’s much harder to collaborate with functions and team leaders to measure the impact of learning initiatives over time and to isolate the variables that indicate ROI is related to training.   Similarly, it’s relatively easy to apply GenAI to the problem of creating courses and content. It’s much more difficult to figure out how to apply GenAI to the problem of behaviour change in service of business outcomes.   Now as I said, there were a few vendors at Learning Technologies with promising solutions. These fell into two categories: AI role-plays and AI coaching. In both cases, the emphasis is on the learner, not the content. Hear hear! But both solution types have a long way to go. I have yet to see an AI role-play with a smooth UX that quickly gets the learner somewhere useful. And much AI coaching has a similar problem. GenAI solutions tend to favour lengthy, divergent conversations, which can be fascinating. But learners are on the clock, which is why bite-sized learning became a thing in the first place.   Overall, I’m optimistic about what AI represents for L&D as a whole.  And at Cognician we have brought GenAI into our offering in ways that have made our clients use comments like, “Game changer!” and “This is it! This is it!” And the reason we’re getting this kind of reaction is that we didn’t aim to solve an easy problem. We’re solving the same difficult problem we’ve been solving for 15 years: how do you get people to change the way they think and act and make it measurable? So, when we infused AI into our platform, it was in support of an obsession that is core to our DNA.   We’re not interested in doing mediocre work faster and cheaper. For us, adding GenAI has made the whole of Cognician greater than the sum of its parts by doubling down on outcomes.   So what’s the best use of GenAI you’ve seen for L&D or change management? And what concerns do you have? Would you like to see what we've done? Please reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you. ### Related Articles [![Copilot Enablement vs. Copilot Activation](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/bridge%20the%20enablement%20vs.%20activation%20gap%20%28blue%20bridge%20over%20water%29.png)](https://info.cognician.com/blog/copilot-enablement-vs.-copilot-activation) 5 May 2026 ## [Copilot Enablement vs. Copilot Activation](https://info.cognician.com/blog/copilot-enablement-vs.-copilot-activation)  *Enablement creates capability. Activation turns that capability into daily use. If training is done but usage is lagging,...* [Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/blog/topic/activate-behavior-change) [![Three Reasons Our Clients Choose Cognician for Copilot Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/Copilot%20Adoption%20Quest%20-%20a%20digital%20program%20shown%20on%20different%20devices%20including%20challenges%20and%20insights.png)](https://info.cognician.com/blog/three-reasons-our-clients-choose-cognician-for-copilot-adoption) 7 November 2025 ## [Three Reasons Our Clients Choose Cognician for Copilot Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/blog/three-reasons-our-clients-choose-cognician-for-copilot-adoption) *Rolling out Copilot? Don't settle for passive training. Cognician makes Copilot adoption stick with immediate action, tailored...* [Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/blog/topic/activate-behavior-change) [![Using Gamification to Drive Copilot Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/Driving%20Copilot%20adoption%20with%20Gamification%20.png)](https://info.cognician.com/blog/using-gamification-to-drive-copilot-adoption) 23 October 2025 ## [Using Gamification to Drive Copilot Adoption](https://info.cognician.com/blog/using-gamification-to-drive-copilot-adoption) Gamifying the adoption of new AI tools can boost motivation and make learning and using the tools both effective and enjoyable.... [Activate Behavior Change](https://info.cognician.com/blog/topic/activate-behavior-change) ![logolight (1)](https://info.cognician.com/hubfs/logolight%20(1).svg) Cognician’s founding belief is that people are capable of great things when their behavior is driven by meaningful conversations, great questions, powerful ideas, and deeply felt emotions. Our core capability is enabling large organizations to activate behavior change at scale. We achieve this by creating personalized, data-driven digital experiences that are grounded in action, follow-through, reflection, and social engagement. With our multi-day challenges, you can drive measurable change in 30 days or less. - - - [Log In](https://www.cognician.com/login) - [Resources](https://info.cognician.com/resources) - [Blog](https://info.cognician.com/blog) - [Contact Us](https://info.cognician.com/contact-us) - [Book a Call](https://info.cognician.com/book-a-call) ![Official Company Unreasonable Seal](https://d820a6sl534t.cloudfront.net/seals/unreasonable-seal-white-20171129.png) ![Culture award](https://info.cognician.com/hs-fs/hubfs/culture-award-2.png?width=323&name=culture-award-2.png)   © 2024 Cognician (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved. VAT no. 4910257130. [Terms of Service](https://info.cognician.com/terms-of-service/) | [Privacy Policy](https://info.cognician.com/privacy-policy/) | [GDPR Sub-Processors](https://info.cognician.com/gdpr-sub-processors/) | [WCAG Statement](https://info.cognician.com/wcag_statement/) | [Sitemap](https://info.cognician.com/sitemap/) | Show Cookie Settings