What We’re Watching for at ATD 2026: AI, Video, and the Future of L&D

Visla is heading to ATD 2026 in Los Angeles, and we’re excited to be part of the conversation.

The 2026 ATD International Conference & EXPO, hosted by the Association for Talent Development, takes place May 17 to 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. You’ll be able to find Visla on the EXPO floor at Booth 2138, where we’ll be talking with learning and development teams about how AI-powered video workflows can make training easier to create, update, share, and scale.

We’re going because ATD26 is happening at an important moment for L&D. Training teams are under pressure to move faster, support changing business needs, prove impact, and help employees adapt to AI. At the same time, many teams are still working with scattered tools, overloaded subject matter experts, outdated SOPs, and training content that’s hard to keep current.

That’s the gap we’re watching closely. AI can help L&D teams produce more content, but the real opportunity is bigger than speed. The future of learning content will depend on whether teams can create training that’s clear, accurate, useful, easy to revise, and connected to real work.

Here’s what we’ll be watching for at ATD 2026:

1. AI in learning and development is moving from experiment to workflow

AI is no longer a side conversation in talent development. ATD26 is putting AI at the center of the program, with sessions focused on learning design, training innovation, responsible adoption, governance, performance support, leadership development, and workforce readiness.

That shift matters. For the last few years, many L&D teams have tested AI in isolated ways. They’ve used it to brainstorm course outlines, summarize documents, draft scripts, or create quick learning assets. Those experiments are useful, but they’re not enough on their own.

The next step is operational. L&D teams need to know where AI fits inside the actual work of training creation and delivery. Can it help turn a policy document into a short explainer video? Can it help capture a software workflow and turn it into a how-to guide? Can it help update onboarding materials when a process changes? Can it help subject matter experts review content without slowing everything down?

That’s why we’re watching for practical AI conversations at ATD26. The most useful sessions and tools won’t just show what AI can generate. They’ll show how AI fits into repeatable learning workflows that help teams get better training into people’s hands.

2. Training content needs to scale without becoming generic

Every L&D team knows the pressure to create more content. There are new hires to onboard, managers to train, software changes to explain, compliance requirements to meet, and internal processes to document. The backlog never really goes away.

AI can make content creation faster, but faster content isn’t automatically better content. If teams aren’t careful, they can end up with training that sounds polished but feels generic, misses context, or doesn’t match how work actually gets done.

That’s why one of the biggest questions at ATD26 should be: how do we scale training content without sacrificing quality?

For us, that means keeping humans in control of the parts that matter. Learning teams still need to define the goal, check accuracy, review tone, approve visuals, and make sure the final content fits the audience. AI should reduce production friction, not remove judgment from the process.

This is especially important for training video production. With the right workflow, teams can record a process, generate a first draft, edit by scene, add branded visuals, collaborate with reviewers, and publish a polished video without needing a full production crew.

3. Performance support is becoming just as important as formal training

Not every learning need belongs in a course. Sometimes an employee doesn’t need a full training module. They need a clear answer right before they do the task.

That’s why performance support is one of the most important L&D trends to watch at ATD 2026. Learning teams are increasingly responsible not just for formal programs, but for helping employees perform in the flow of work.

That could mean a two-minute SOP video. It could mean a screen recording that shows exactly how to complete a process. It could mean a quick onboarding refresher, a product walkthrough, a policy update, or a customer support explainer.

The value is simple: people can’t remember every process forever. They need learning assets that are easy to find, easy to understand, and easy to use when the moment comes.

This is where video can be especially powerful. A clear video can show the steps, the context, and the expected outcome in a way that text alone often can’t. For software workflows, internal procedures, customer support, product education, and compliance refreshers, that clarity can make a real difference.

At ATD26, we’ll be looking for more conversations about this shift from “training as an event” to “learning as ongoing support.”

4. Governance, trust, and review are now part of the AI conversation

The more AI becomes part of learning and development, the more AI governance matters.

Learning leaders aren’t just asking whether AI can create content. They’re asking whether their teams can trust the content it helps create. Who reviews it? How are errors caught? Can subject matter experts make updates easily? Can teams control brand standards, access, permissions, and approval steps?

These questions are especially important in enterprise environments. Training content often touches policy, safety, compliance, sales messaging, customer experience, and internal operations. A small mistake can create confusion or risk.

That doesn’t mean teams should avoid AI. It means they need workflows that make review and control easier.

The most useful AI tools for L&D will help teams move faster while keeping content reviewable. They’ll make it easy to edit, revise, approve, and update training materials. They’ll support collaboration across instructional designers, managers, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders.

At ATD26, we’ll be paying close attention to how vendors talk about responsible AI. The strongest answers won’t be vague promises. They’ll show exactly how teams keep control of the final learning experience.

5. Measurement has to catch up with AI-powered content creation

If AI helps teams create more training content, measurement becomes even more important.

It’s not enough to know that a video was published or a course was completed. L&D teams need to connect learning content to outcomes that matter. Did onboarding move faster? Did employees make fewer process errors? Did support tickets decrease? Did managers feel more confident? Did employees actually apply what they learned?

As content creation gets faster, learning teams will need better ways to decide what’s worth creating, what’s worth updating, and what’s actually helping the business.

This should also change how teams think about content formats. A long course might be right for some needs. A short training video might be better for others. A screen recording, checklist, or quick refresher might be enough. The right format should depend on the learner, the task, and the outcome.

For L&D teams, the question isn’t “How much content can we make?” It’s “What content will help people do their jobs better?”

6. Collaboration is becoming a core part of L&D content production

Great training content usually isn’t made by one person.

An instructional designer may shape the learning experience. A subject matter expert may check the accuracy. A manager may confirm whether the process reflects real work. Brand, legal, HR, or communications teams may need to review the final version.

That’s why collaboration is such a major part of scalable learning content. Teams need shared spaces, clear review processes, organized assets, and easy ways to leave feedback. Otherwise, the content gets stuck in email threads, outdated folders, and version-control headaches.

This is one reason we’re excited to talk with L&D teams at ATD 2026. We want to hear how teams are managing the messy middle of content production: capturing expert knowledge, translating it into useful training, getting approvals, keeping videos current, and making sure the right people can access the right assets.

AI can help, but workflow still matters. The teams that get the most out of AI will likely be the ones that pair it with strong collaboration, clear ownership, and practical review processes.

Questions to ask on the ATD EXPO floor

With hundreds of exhibitors at ATD26, there will be no shortage of tools to explore. The challenge is knowing which ones will actually help your team.

Here are a few questions worth asking as you walk the EXPO floor:

• Does this tool help us create better learning, or just more content?
• Can subject matter experts review and update content easily?
• How does it support brand consistency and quality control?
• Can it fit into our current L&D workflow?
• What governance, permissions, or approval features does it offer?
• How does it help employees at the moment of need?
• What outcomes should we measure after using it?

Those questions can help teams separate flashy demos from tools that solve real problems.

Why Visla is going to ATD 2026

Visla is going to ATD 2026 because the L&D conversation is moving directly toward the problems our platform is built to help solve: faster content creation, more scalable video production, better training workflows, easier collaboration, and learning materials that can keep up when work changes.

For many teams, training content is no longer a once-a-year project. Onboarding materials need updates. SOPs change. Software workflows evolve. Product knowledge shifts. Leaders need to communicate clearly. Employees need help in the moment, not three weeks later.

Video is one of the clearest ways to explain those changes. A short training video can show a process, demonstrate a workflow, humanize an internal message, or turn expert knowledge into something employees can actually use. But video has historically been hard to scale because recording, editing, reviewing, and updating it can take too much time.

That’s why we’re excited to talk with L&D teams at ATD26. We want to hear how teams are using video today, where production slows them down, and where AI can help them create better learning content without giving up accuracy, review, or control.

Visit Visla at Booth 2138 at ATD 2026

If you’re going to ATD 2026, we’d love to meet you.

Visit Visla at Booth 2138 to talk about how your team is creating, updating, and scaling video for training, onboarding, SOPs, internal communications, customer education, and more.

We’ll be there to share what we’re building, but also to listen. We want to hear what L&D teams are prioritizing, where AI is helping, where it still feels risky, and what it really takes to keep learning content useful in a fast-changing workplace.

ATD26 is a chance to look at where learning is headed next. We’re excited to be there, and we hope to see you in Los Angeles.

Also, if you want to learn a little more about the Visla team that’s going to ATD 2026 or even book time with us, please click the link below