Upskilling and AI are top priorities for L&D

Published in February 2026, the Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems looks at the learning management solutions market for EMEA’s learning leaders – here, Fosway analysts look at upskilling and AI, priorities for the year ahead.

Skills remains the leading priority for both L&D and HR. Our latest research shows ‘upskilling and reskilling’ once again rank as the top focus area for L&D, cited by over 50% of companies for the second consecutive year. Running almost level with skills is AI, unsurprising given the pace of AI innovation and the level of attention it continues to attract across organisations.

Compliance and regulatory training, which previously ranked at or near the top, has dropped to eighth place this year. Our reading is that this just reflects other priorities rather than a reduced importance. Both skills and AI offer the potential to be more strategic and more transformational. Compliance requirements never go away but maybe L&D functions believe they are equipped to deliver it effectively. We are not sure their colleagues in compliance always agree. 

AI is seen as disruptive, but how exactly, and when?

Despite the extensive focus on AI, vendor marketing has been advancing faster than real-world delivery. Last year, Fosway’s AI research  found that whilst nearly every learning systems vendor claimed AI-enhanced functionality, only 10% of mapped AI features were live with customers. But that situation is changing rapidly, as will be evident when we publish the 2026 updated AI research shortly.

From a corporate perspective, two clear buying strategies have emerged. Proactive organisations, often those without a current system or nearing contract renewal, are actively exploring AI-driven solutions to accelerate change. But many existing customers are holding back, waiting for the market to stabilise and vendors to deliver more real AI capability and proven impact before committing further. 

The LXP is dead, long live learning experience!

It’s official: the LXP as a standalone category has effectively disappeared. We always rejected the idea that LXP was a distinct buying category anyway – seeing it more as a transitional need for complex (and wealthy) companies that couldn’t easily fix the experience of their legacy systems without a major overhaul. But now even the LXP vendors admit that buyer has largely gone. Companies remain highly focused on delivering better learning experiences, but personalised, skills-based recommendations, intuitive UX, intelligent search and seamless access to content are now baseline expectations for any modern learning system.

AI is accelerating this shift further. What was previously marketed as ‘LXP functionality’ is now powered by AI. Even the familiar Netflix-style homepage has a limited lifespan. As AI matures, the traditional front door to learning will evolve into something more conversational and adaptive, with AI coaches guiding learners in real time rather than presenting curated content tiles linking to static resources.

This is an excerpt from the 2026 Fosway 9-Grid™ for Learning Systems. Get the full insight and discover all the latest market and solution trends by reading the whole report here.

What should you do next?

• Digital Learning Realities 2026 – share your experience of digital learning, get first look access to the results, and benchmark your progress.
• Phase Two of the AI project is in progress – alongside Fosway’s publicly available suite of AI research papers come a range of private assets for this AI project’s participants, with a level of detailed analysis and insight you will not find anywhere else. Contact us to join Fosway’s strategic AI project for 2026: ‘AI in Learning’.

Other recommended reading

• Build your AI strategy with evidence, not guesswork. All our published research so far is here >> Fosway AI Strategic Research Programme

For corporates looking for deeper insight on this and other similar topics, please consider joining our Fosway research network to get access to corporate roundtables, private 1-1 analyst time, benchmark reports and other analyst services or project support. Click here to find out more.

Please also visit the Fosway Knowledge Centre to check out other relevant Fosway research and insights, including filters for segment category, key topics, type of content and vendor-specific information.