The ILT advantage isn't dead—it's underpowered
When Carla, a senior claims manager at NorthRiver Insurance, logged into Microsoft Teams on Monday morning, she knew the stakes were high. Twenty new adjusters were joining her virtually for their first week of onboarding, and Carla had been asked to lead the training. Like many corporate instructors, she wasn't a professional facilitator. She was a subject matter expert with years of frontline experience—an expert at processing claims, not necessarily at teaching them.
Her slides were ready and her knowledge deep, but within the first few hours the familiar challenges surfaced: cameras off, participants multitasking, questions in chat revealing that knowledge wasn't sticking. Despite her expertise, Carla wasn't equipped to adapt her delivery, sustain attention in a virtual environment, or create the kind of practice that builds confidence.
This story is not unique. Across industries, Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and its digital counterpart, Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT), remain the backbone of corporate learning. They are also critical elements in blended learning programs, where live instruction is combined with microlearning, reinforcement, and coaching. But in most organizations, the people delivering ILT/VILT are not trained facilitators—they are SMEs balancing full-time roles with occasional teaching assignments. A knowledgeable SME does not automatically make a capable instructor, and yet the quality of corporate training often hinges on exactly that assumption.
The delivery gap
Instructor-led training has always carried a paradox: companies rely on it for the most critical moments in learning, yet they systematically underinvest in the delivery capabilities of the people at the front of the room. While course design and digital platforms may receive attention, delivery skills are treated as an afterthought.
The result is uneven outcomes. One instructor may create an energizing, practice-rich environment; another may lecture heavily and overwhelm learners with information. In both cases, success depends on personality and natural aptitude rather than deliberate development. Without structured support, learners leave with wildly different experiences of the same program, and organizations cannot reliably connect ILT to performance.
This isn't just about knowledge transfer. Research shows that learners often fail when they don't feel understood by the instructor—the "affective filter" that blocks engagement and retention. Building delivery skills like empathy and active listening is as important as mastering the content itself (see The science of feeling understood).
How AI develops delivery skills
This is where AI-powered platforms like Surge9 change the equation. Their role is not simply to provide instructors with better tools during a session—it is to develop instructors themselves.
AI can observe patterns in delivery—how much time an instructor spends talking versus facilitating practice, how effectively they check for understanding, how well they vary questioning techniques—and provide private, constructive feedback. Over time, instructors see where they default to telling instead of coaching, where they rush through complex points, or where their pacing loses learners.
Crucially, AI can watch recordings of entire ILT or VILT sessions on platforms like Teams. After class, it generates coaching feedback on the instructor's delivery—highlighting moments where engagement dropped, where questioning could have gone deeper, or where practice opportunities were missed. When the instructor delivers the next session, the AI watches again, comparing progress against past performance. This creates a continuous coaching loop that builds real facilitation skills over time.
AI-powered simulations add another dimension, allowing SMEs to rehearse delivery before stepping into a live class and receive targeted feedback on clarity, pacing, and engagement strategies.
The focus shifts from "equipping instructors with tools" to building instructors as skilled facilitators. AI becomes the coach that helps SMEs grow into confident, capable instructors—without demanding weeks of external train-the-trainer programs.
A new model for ILT and VILT
This approach creates a new model for instructor-led learning. ILT and VILT remain anchored in human connection and expertise, but facilitators are no longer left to sink or swim based on natural talent. AI shortens the path from subject matter expert to effective instructor, raising the baseline of delivery quality across the organization.
And because ILT/VILT plays such a vital role in blended learning programs, improving delivery quality has a ripple effect across the entire learning ecosystem. Stronger live sessions mean subsequent reinforcement, coaching, and microlearning activities can build on a solid foundation rather than compensating for weak instruction. In turn, organizations can measure not just completions, but the development of competence and confidence—the two better C's that truly define performance (see From completions to the two better C’s).
ILT is not going away—it is still the cornerstone of corporate learning. But with AI that develops delivery skills, session by session, it no longer has to be the weakest link in the chain. It can finally live up to its promise: transforming expertise into performance.
From SME to skilled facilitator
A few weeks later, Carla logged into Teams for another onboarding session—this time armed with AI feedback from her first attempt. The system had shown her where she talked too long without inviting interaction, where she skipped over learner hesitation, and where she could have varied her questioning techniques.
She adjusted. Instead of pushing through dense slides, she paused for short scenario-based questions. She used polls and open-ended prompts to spark discussion. Most importantly, she watched learner engagement climb in real time—and kept it there. Afterward, the AI reviewed the recording again, confirming her progress and giving her new ideas to try next time.
Carla was still the same subject matter expert. But with AI as her coach, she had grown into a stronger facilitator—one who could hold attention, build confidence, and turn training into performance.
That is the true promise of ILT and VILT in the age of AI: not replacing the instructor, but helping every instructor deliver their best.
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