Decision Intelligence Benchmark: Learning & Development Talent Decisions for 2026 – 2027
How L&D leaders are stepping up to lead AI enablement and workforce strategy, and what their teams need to keep pace
L&D is no longer just taking training orders. Teams are leading AI enablement, shaping workforce strategy, and being treated as the experts in the room. They have never been more energized. But the mandate is growing faster than the budgets, headcount, and senior roles behind it, and some teams are absorbing whole groups of people through reorganizations without a single new step up the ladder.
This report takes you inside L&D teams to see how they are handling a bigger role, and where the cracks are starting to show.
Inside, you’ll discover:
- Why L&D has the most engaged teams of any function we studied, yet fewer than half of leaders are confident their team is equipped
- How small teams are leading AI enablement for entire companies
- Why L&D leaders are more than twice as likely as their peers to say AI will increase their headcount need
- Where L&D’s growth is really coming from, and why it isn’t always new hires
- The AI skill that tops every L&D team’s upskilling priority list
- The retention risk hiding behind low turnover expectations, and why reorganizations may be making it worse
- Why now, while engagement is high, is the moment to fix career paths and succession
Download the report to see how your peers are building L&D teams that can keep up with the role they’ve earned.
