The Death and Rebirth of L&D

Hubken’s Darren Bindert looks at the impact of ChatGPT’s Study Mode.

OpenAI’s newest ChatGPT Study Mode isn’t just another education feature. I think it’s the most significant disruption to corporate learning since the Internet went mainstream. While most L&D professionals are still debating whether AI is friend or foe, this single feature has just redefined what learning looks like in the workplace.

The launch on July 29, 2025, might seem like just another tech announcement, but dig deeper and you’ll find the blueprint for the complete transformation of how we develop talent. ChatGPT Study Mode doesn’t just provide answers - it teaches people how to think. And if that doesn’t fundamentally challenge everything we’ve built in L&D over the past two decades, nothing will.

The $350 billion L&D industry just got its wake-up call

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: 65% of organisations are already using generative AI regularly (McKinsey), nearly double from just ten months ago. Meanwhile, 73% of employees desperately need AI skills (McKinsey), and 49% say they need training on AI tools before they can effectively use them (TechRepublic). I would argue that, for most L&D teams, they are not just behind the curve; they are probably not even on the same road.

ChatGPT Study Mode represents something more profound than a new learning tool. It’s the emergence of what Josh Bersin calls the ‘Superworker’ era, when employees who leverage AI deliver exponentially greater productivity and creativity (Galileo). The question isn’t whether your organisation will adopt AI-powered learning. The question is whether your L&D function will lead that transformation or become irrelevant to it.

Consider this: One in three college-aged people already use ChatGPT, with learning as their top use case (Axios). Your newest employees aren’t waiting for your training programs - they’re already engaging and learning with AI. The gap between how people actually learn and how we think we’re teaching them has never been wider.

Traditional training methods are becoming museum pieces

The Socratic method powering ChatGPT Study Mode isn’t revolutionary simply because it’s new. No, it’s revolutionary because it can scale infinitely (OpenAI).

While we’ve spent years creating one-size-fits-all training programs or ‘generalised’ personalisation, AI can now provide individual, personalised, step-by-step guidance to every employee simultaneously.

The numbers tell the story: AI can reduce content creation time by 62%, cutting video production from nearly 13 days to under 5 days (Chieflearningofficer). But that’s just the operational efficiency. The real transformation is happening in learning effectiveness. Organisations using AI in L&D report 41% more effective programs, 39% cost reduction, and 38% increased employee engagement (SHRM).

The competitive landscape reveals our strategic blindness

Are we witnessing the slow demise of the traditional learning management system? Static courses, completion tracking, and satisfaction surveys are being replaced by dynamic, conversational learning that adapts in real-time to each learner’s needs and pace. My prediction is that the LMS will evolve and integrate with AI. The platforms will become smarter, more interactive and more personalised. So, no, I don’t think we’re witnessing the death of the LMS. But we will see its metamorphosis into something far more powerful. The LMS of 2030 will be AI-native, conversational, predictive, and seamlessly integrated into the flow of work. Those that adapt will thrive; those that remain static will indeed become obsolete.

And while we’ve been perfecting our traditional approaches, the competition has evolved dramatically. Google offers Gemini for Education free to all educational institutions. Microsoft bundles Copilot for Education at £19 per user per month. And in the US, Khan Academy’s Khanmigo provides AI tutoring for just $4 monthly (Khamigo).

ChatGPT Study Mode enters this space with premium positioning but superior AI capabilities. However, the real insight isn’t about feature comparisons. This is about market strategy. Educational technology companies are moving faster than corporate L&D departments to integrate AI into learning experiences.

This competitive landscape reveals a critical strategic failure: while we’ve been focused on vendor negotiations and platform integrations, our employees have been adopting consumer AI tools for their learning needs. We are no longer competing with other corporate training providers. Instead, we are competing with the AI tools employees already use.

L&D professionals face an identity crisis (and opportunity)

The role transformation happening in L&D isn’t gradual...it is seismic. 92% of executives expect to boost AI spending over the next three years, but only 1% of companies consider themselves “mature” in AI deployment (Mckinsey). This gap represents the greatest professional opportunity and threat L&D has ever faced.

AI won’t replace L&D professionals, but L&D professionals who understand AI will replace those who don’t.

The skills required for success are evolving rapidly:

• AI literacy becomes as fundamental as presentation skills once were Data analytics replaces intuition-based program design

• Prompt engineering becomes more valuable than instructional design

• Strategic thinking matters more than content creation

The L&D professionals who recognise this shift are already positioning themselves as AI-enabled strategic partners rather than training administrators. They are moving from asking “What courses do we need?” to “How can AI accelerate our business objectives through our employees’ development?”

The agentic AI revolution is just beginning

ChatGPT Study Mode is merely the preview of what’s coming. By 2027, Deloitte predicts 50% of enterprises will deploy AI agents - autonomous systems that can plan, learn, reason, and act independently. In L&D terms, this means:

• Personalised AI learning advisors that proactively identify skill gaps and recommend development opportunities.

• Autonomous coaching systems that provide real-time performance feedback. - Predictive career planning that optimises individual development paths based on business needs and personal aspirations.

The World Economic Forum estimates agentic AI will save US workers 78 million hours per week by 2026 (World Economic Forum). Those aren’t just operational hours...those are learning hours, time that can be redirected toward higher-value skill development and strategic thinking.

Regulatory reality check: Compliance is coming

The regulatory landscape is also crystallising faster than most organisations realise. The EU AI Act becomes fully enforceable by August 2026, with fines reaching €35 million or 7% of global revenue (European Commission). In the US, the states of Colorado and California are looking to implement comprehensive AI acts by 2026.

And while governments and business leaders plan and talk about ethical AI policies, having policies isn’t the same as having competent implementation of them. L&D functions that develop expertise in AI governance, bias prevention, and ethical implementation will become invaluable strategic assets.

This isn’t just about compliance, it’s about developing a competitive advantage. Organisations that master ethical AI implementation in learning will attract and retain top talent while avoiding regulatory penalties that could devastate competitors.

The strategic imperative: Lead or become irrelevant

The ChatGPT Study Mode launch represents an inflection point that demands immediate action. My guess is that organisations have roughly 18 months to transform their L&D approach before the market moves beyond their ability to catch up.

The strategic choices are stark: Lead the AI transformation in your organisation or watch as other departments, external vendors, or employee-driven adoption make L&D irrelevant to how people actually learn and develop.

The winners will be L&D leaders who recognise that ChatGPT Study Mode isn’t just a new tool, but rather it being the proof of concept for a completely different approach to employee development. L&D teams need to invest in AI literacy, redesign their roles around strategic consultation, and position themselves as the guides for their organisation’s transformation into Josh Bersin’s Superworker era.

The future of L&D isn’t about choosing between human connection and artificial intelligence. It’s about orchestrating the collaboration between human expertise and AI capabilities to create learning experiences that were impossible just months ago.

The question every L&D professional must answer today: Will you lead this AI revolution, or will you become a casualty of it?

Darren Bindert is Head of Marketing at Hubken Group. Connect with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-bindert/