As we move into 2026, many of the digital learning trends that gained momentum in 2025 haven’t disappeared. In this blog, we reflect on the trends that we’re continuing to see in real projects and conversations with L&D teams.

Have you ever noticed how learning trends rarely arrive all at once?

They don’t usually show up with a clean start date.

Instead, they creep in quietly. A pilot here. A workaround there. A conversation that keeps coming up in meetings. By the time something gets labelled a ‘trend’, most teams are already experimenting with it in some form.

As we’ve moved from 2025 into 2026, we’ve noticed that many of last year’s digital learning trends haven’t been replaced by something new. They’ve matured. They’ve become more practical. And in some cases, they’ve become harder to ignore.

AI-powered personalised learning is becoming quieter and more focused

In 2025, AI in learning was often talked about loudly. Big promises. Big concerns. Big expectations.

What we’re seeing now is something more restrained.

AI-powered personalisation is still very much in play, but it’s being used more selectively. Rather than fully automated learning journeys, teams are using AI to support adaptive content, surface relevant examples, or adjust difficulty based on prior knowledge.

The emphasis has shifted from ‘how much can we personalise?’ to ‘where does personalisation actually help?’

That change feels healthy. It suggests teams are moving past novelty and starting to integrate AI in ways that respect learner trust, cognitive load and design intent.

Mobile-first and microlearning are now the default

Short, bite-sized learning was already popular in 2025. In 2026, it feels closer to an expectation.

Learners increasingly assume that content will work on a phone. They expect to dip in and out. They expect learning to fit around work, not interrupt it.

What’s changed is the conversation. It’s no longer ‘should this be mobile-friendly?’ but ‘what does this need to be for someone checking it between meetings, on a train, or just before a task?’

We’re seeing more care taken over sequencing, pacing and usefulness. Microlearning that earns its place tends to answer a real question or support a real moment, not just break a long course into smaller pieces.

Immersive learning is becoming more situational

Virtual and augmented reality haven’t suddenly taken over digital learning. But they also haven’t gone away.

What we’re noticing is a more realistic use of immersive and experiential learning. Teams are choosing VR or AR when the situation genuinely benefits from simulation. High-risk scenarios. Rare events. Complex environments where practice matters more than explanation.

In 2026, immersive learning feels less like a showcase and more like a specialist tool. When it’s used well, it’s tightly scoped, clearly justified and integrated into a broader learning journey rather than standing alone.

Human-centred and empathetic design is shaping decisions earlier

This is one of the quieter trends, but one of the most significant.

Across projects, we’re seeing more attention paid to learner experience before content is even designed. Questions about cognitive load, accessibility, inclusion and emotional impact are showing up earlier in the process.

Rather than being treated as checks at the end, these considerations are influencing structure, tone and format from the start.

In practice, this often results in simpler learning. Clearer language. Fewer distractions. More respect for people’s time and mental bandwidth.

Skills-based learning continues to replace completion metrics

The move towards skills and competencies didn’t start in 2025, but it’s clearly continuing into 2026.

What’s changed is the level of intent. More organisations are aligning learning to specific skills, behaviours and capabilities, rather than relying on course completion as a proxy for impact.

We’re seeing learning programmes structured around progression. Awareness. Practice. Application. Mastery.

This makes conversations with stakeholders easier. It also makes evaluation more meaningful. Instead of asking ‘did they finish?’, teams are increasingly asking ‘what can they now do?’

Data and analytics are becoming part of everyday L&D conversations

In 2025, learning analytics often sat slightly apart from design. Something reviewed after launch, or handled by a specialist.

Now, data is showing up earlier and more often. Not necessarily in complex dashboards, but in practical questions.

What are people engaging with? Where do they drop off? Which parts support performance?

The focus has shifted from collecting data to using it. Teams are looking for insights that inform decisions, not just reports that confirm activity.

Blended and hybrid delivery now feel normal

The idea of combining live and self-paced learning is no longer novel.

What we’re seeing now is more deliberate blending. Clearer thinking about what benefits from real-time interaction, and what works better asynchronously.

Live sessions are being used for discussion, challenge and social learning. Digital content is being used for preparation, reinforcement and reference.

When this balance is intentional, the whole experience feels more coherent and more human.

Gamification and storytelling are being used with more restraint

Narrative and game mechanics are still popular, but the tone has shifted.

Rather than adding points or badges for the sake of it, teams are using storytelling to provide context, motivation and meaning. Gamified elements are there to support progression or decision-making, rather than distract from it.

The question we hear more often now is ‘what role does this play in the story?’ rather than ‘how do we make this more fun?’

Continuous learning ecosystems are replacing one-off programmes

Finally, we’re seeing fewer ‘launch and leave’ courses.

More organisations are building modular content libraries that can be revisited, updated and reused over time. Learning feels less like an event and more like an ongoing system.

This supports long-term capability building and reduces the pressure to get everything perfect at launch.

What all of this points to

Most L&D teams are already doing many of these things. The difference now is confidence. Confidence to choose deliberately, to say no when something doesn’t fit, and to design with people rather than for metrics.

That, more than any single trend, is what we’re seeing continue into 2026.