Artificial intelligence (AI) is already influencing how learning and development (L&D) work gets done and how L&D professionals are evaluated for performance and growth. Rather than transforming roles overnight, AI is reshaping expectations around speed, decision-making and value. These shifts are showing up in measurable outcomes, including performance, compensation and career progression across the field.

Training Industry’s recent L&D Career and Salary Report makes this clear. More than half of learning professionals report using AI across core responsibilities, particularly in developing and delivering solutions, managing learning technology and optimizing processes. And it pays to do so; L&D professionals who use AI report stronger performance and higher median salaries.

So, what, specifically, is changing?

AI Is Rewriting the Value and Leadership Equation in L&D

AI is steadily absorbing routine coordination, drafting and process related work. Tasks that once consumed significant L&D time (e.g., initial content drafts, analytics and reporting) now take a fraction of the time with AI support. But AI is not just changing how work gets done. It is changing what L&D work matters most and who is expected to take responsibility for it.

As a result, some types of work are losing value while others are becoming more critical. As AI becomes integrated into workflows across organizations, L&D must let go of:

• Assuming L&D controls when, where and how learning happens.
• Designing learning around fixed requirements and formal refresh cycles.
• Assuming learning happens outside of work processes.
• Treating AI as a tool to deploy rather than a system to shape.

At the same time, L&D must lean into:

• Designing conditions that make AI-supported learning effective.
• Influencing how AI explains, reinforces and sequences knowledge.
• Setting boundaries that ensure AI supports learning rather than shortcuts it.
• Detecting skill signals when learning is embedded in work.

AI gives employees more direct access to information and is changing how work happens more broadly. For example, research suggests that AI adoption can reshape collaboration and knowledge-sharing patterns. L&D professionals are well positioned to guide these changes.

Recognizing these shifts requires reconfiguring L&D roles rather than eliminating them. Some traditional roles, particularly course-based content development roles, are likely to shrink. At the same time, new work is emerging that requires stronger judgment, systems thinking and learning expertise. Because this work affects performance, trust and team processes, it is increasingly becoming leadership work.

One key finding from the L&D Career and Salary Report reinforces this point. While AI use improves performance in many areas, it does not appear to improve strategic alignment. That remains a distinctly human responsibility — and a leadership opportunity for L&D professionals.

What This Means for Your Career

The takeaway for L&D professionals is not simply to learn AI tools, but to apply them strategically. Start by selecting one active L&D initiative and intentionally using AI across the full lifecycle, from needs analysis through design, delivery and evaluation. Pay close attention to where AI improves speed or quality and where it falls short to clarify where human judgment adds the most value.

Next, translate your AI use into performance language. Instead of discussing tools, describe outcomes such as faster turnaround times, clearer insights for stakeholders or improved decision-making. This is especially important given the link between AI use, stronger performance ratings and higher reported salaries.

Finally, look beyond your own work. Share practical lessons learned, help teammates adopt tools responsibly and contribute to conversations about how AI should support learning and performance. As organizations scale AI adoption, L&D professionals who help others navigate these shifts are increasingly positioned as leaders, regardless of title.