ATD Research: AI Tools Are Benefitting Instructional Designers

ATD's new research report found that AI tools reduce the time it takes to design courses and improves the quality of the course design.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two-thirds of instructional designers began using AI tools within the last year, according to a new Association for Talent Development (ATD) research report.

Almost all (96 percent) of instructional designers who use AI tools use generative AI, while only 17 percent use traditional AI, according to ATD's AI in Instructional Design: Transforming Workflows and Content Creation, sponsored by Clarity Consultants. Generative AI, including ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Grammarly, can generate text, images, videos, and audio. Instructional designers most commonly use AI tools to outline courses, storyboard, write learning objectives, create various types of training content, and generate voice-overs or narration.

"Most instructional designers have experienced improvement in their ability to design courses when using AI tools," the report said. "However, they are concerned about copyright and intellectual property issues as well as the accuracy of the content generated by AI."

Other key findings from the report include:

• AI tools are effective for tasks that require summarizing, writing, and brainstorming.
• 37 percent of TD professionals say AI tools have greatly reduced the amount of time it takes to design a course and 70 percent say it improves the quality of their course design.
• 20 percent of instructional designers don't use AI and most said it is due to a lack of trust in AI-generated content.

ATD surveyed 232 talent development professionals across a variety of industries to find out how they use AI tools for day-to-day tasks, content creation, and the development of multimedia assets.

ATD is hosting a free webinar on the report on Thursday, August 21, at 2 p.m. ET.

About ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world's largest professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help to achieve results for the organizations they serve. Established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

ATD's members come from more than 100 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports talent development professionals who gather locally in volunteer-led US chapters and international member networks and with international strategic partners.

For more information, visit td.org.

SOURCE Association for Talent Development (ATD)