Every instructional designer knows the struggle—tight deadlines, endless revisions, and the constant juggle between creativity and efficiency. Imagine having an assistant to handle the tedious parts: formatting, quiz generation, and summarizing research. That’s exactly where AI steps in—not to take over, but to help you focus on what truly matters.

While AI is advancing rapidly, it’s not here to replace human expertise—it’s here to enhance it. By automating repetitive tasks and offering data-driven insights, AI allows instructional designers to dedicate more time to what they do best: crafting engaging, effective learning experiences (and, let’s be honest, making sure learners don’t doze off halfway through a module).

In this article, we’ll explore how AI is shaping instructional design, why human expertise remains irreplaceable, and how the future of eLearning depends on a collaborative approach between AI and human creativity.

The Role of Human Instructional Designers

Before diving into AI’s impact, it’s essential to recognize the unique skills that human instructional designers bring to the table. These professionals do far more than create content—they design learning journeys that resonate with users. Their expertise spans:

• Understanding Learner Needs – Instructional designers analyze target audiences, identify learning gaps, and create strategies tailored to engagement and retention.

• Applying Learning Science – The foundation of effective training isn’t just well-structured content; it’s built on cognitive science, motivation theories, and adult learning principles.

• Creating Emotionally Engaging Learning Experiences – Storytelling, gamification, and scenario-based learning require creativity and a deep understanding of human psychology. AI lacks the empathy and contextual awareness needed to drive these elements effectively.

• Ensuring Accessibility and Inclusion – Designing inclusive learning experiences requires cultural awareness, an understanding of accessibility guidelines (like WCAG and Section 508), and the ability to anticipate diverse learner needs.

A study titled "A Case Study of Co-Creation Between Designers and AI" explores how human designers and AI collaborate to enhance creativity. The research presents a human-AI co-creative segment model and identifies three interactive modes of co-creation, emphasizing AI as an augmentative tool rather than a replacement for human ingenuity. This reinforces the idea that instructional designers can leverage AI to streamline tasks while maintaining creative control.

Where AI Excels—and Where It Falls Short

To better understand the collaboration between AI and instructional designers, it helps to examine where each excels:

While AI tools like Mindsmith can generate structured content, refine assessments, and provide adaptive recommendations, they lack creativity, empathy, and strategic thinking—elements that human designers provide to make learning meaningful.

AI’s Expanding Role in Instructional Design

AI has introduced a new era of efficiency, offering tools that automate tasks and personalize learning experiences. However, instead of replacing instructional designers, AI serves as an assistant that enhances workflow and scalability (think of it as your digital intern—efficient but still in need of guidance). Key areas where AI is making an impact include:

Content Generation and Curation 

AI-powered platforms like Mindsmith assist in quickly generating course outlines, summarizing complex topics, and suggesting relevant multimedia elements. While AI can provide a foundation, human designers refine the material to align with the company’s objectives and culture.

Adaptive Learning Paths 

AI analyzes learner progress in real-time and adjusts the content accordingly, creating personalized learning experiences. Platforms like Docebo leverage AI-driven recommendations to guide learners toward relevant courses.

Automated Assessments & Feedback 

AI tools can evaluate quizzes, detect patterns in learner performance, and provide instant feedback. This frees up time for instructional designers to focus on higher-level course improvements (because let’s be real, manually grading 500 quizzes isn’t anyone’s dream job).

Localization and Translation 

AI accelerates multilingual course development by translating content and adjusting phrasing for different cultures. However, human designers still play a key role in ensuring translations maintain context and engagement.

ArcBest, a logistics company, integrated IBM Watson Talent Frameworks with its Cornerstone human capital management solutions to enhance leadership training and competency frameworks. While AI streamlined the data analysis, human oversight was crucial in refining learning strategies.

Can AI and Instructional Designers Coexist? (The Answer: Yes!)

The relationship between AI and instructional design isn’t an “either-or” scenario—it’s a collaboration. Here’s how learning professionals can maximize AI’s potential:

• Efficiency Boost, Not Creativity Replacement – AI takes care of tedious tasks like formatting, compliance checks, and data analysis, while humans focus on crafting meaningful learning experiences.

• Data-Driven Decisions with Human Oversight – AI provides insights on learner engagement, but instructional designers interpret the data and make strategic design improvements.

• Enhanced Personalization – AI-powered authoring tools, like Mindsmith, allow learning designers to quickly generate structured content while maintaining full creative control.

Laing O'Rourke, a leading construction and engineering firm, transformed its employee training with "LOR Learn," a centralized learning platform offering personalized, role-based training modules. Inspired by social media formats, this AI-powered system delivers bite-sized, engaging content to enhance learning retention. Since its launch, employee engagement has significantly increased, with monthly active users rising from 79 to 700, and LinkedIn Learning utilization soaring from 35% to 95%. This case study highlights how AI-driven tools and human instructional designers can work together to create impactful learning experiences.

The Future of AI-Assisted Instructional Design

Looking ahead, AI’s role in instructional design will continue to evolve. Some anticipated trends include:

• More Intelligent Chatbots & AI Tutors – AI-driven virtual assistants will provide instant learner support but will still require human oversight to ensure content quality.

• Stronger AI-Powered Analytics – Organizations will rely on AI to measure training ROI and engagement, but human decision-making will remain critical for applying insights. Beyond analytics and AI tutors, authoring tools will also see major advancements, making interactive course creation more intuitive and AI-driven.

• Greater AI Integration in Authoring Tools – AI-assisted platforms like Mindsmith will become more advanced, helping instructional designers iterate faster and create more engaging courses. Future AI-driven authoring tools will not only speed up content generation but also improve interactivity through AI-powered gamification, scenario-based learning, and adaptive storytelling techniques, making training experiences more immersive and engaging.

Conclusion

AI isn’t here to take over instructional design—it’s here to elevate it. By offloading repetitive tasks and providing data-driven insights, AI enables learning professionals to spend more time on what truly matters—crafting innovative, engaging learning experiences that drive real impact. By leveraging AI for efficiency while maintaining human creativity and strategic oversight, learning professionals can create richer, more engaging eLearning experiences.

Mindsmith exemplifies this balance, blending AI efficiency with human creativity to help instructional designers work smarter, not harder, empowering them to focus on innovation rather than repetitive tasks. Instead of replacing human expertise, AI enhances it—making the future of instructional design more dynamic than ever.