Always on: scaling success with AI for learning
Over the last couple of years, the L&D Global Sentiment Survey has shown that artificial intelligence is a top priority for the L&D industry. Yet it perhaps hasn’t proven as transformative as we might have expected. AI is often used for content creation, rather than focussing on enhancing the experience of learning that content.
At Make Real, based on recent work with London Business School, we have some toppro tips on innovation, bringing others on the journey, and showing the ROI of adding AI to learning and development projects.
Matching the use case
True innovation lies at the centre of matching a use case, or learning need, to a technical development. It means keeping an eye on the trending use cases and skills gaps. And it’s key to understand what needle you’re trying to move - and how will AI (or any technology) help you do that better than more traditional methods?
Make Real has worked closely with London Business School to create a learning experience that can help business leaders to practise their storytelling skills. Learning took place through reading articles, watching videos, and carrying out reflection activities – all relying on theoretical knowledge. Students might get the opportunity to roleplay with an actor or coach, but this is an expensive and time-consuming intervention, difficult to scale across a whole school.
The solution we built together was based on a self-reflective learning approach that an academic study has evidenced as being more effective than traditional methods. It incorporates AI-powered emotional recognition to assess facial expressions and engagement, and generative AI coaching to provide nuanced, real-time feedback. The LLM has been trained on the London Business School approach to storytelling, so the feedback isn't just personalised, it's tailored to their learning outcomes.
The new learning experience provides a tool that can be used, over and over, giving users a way to refine their storytelling skills and access expertise on storytelling at any time.
Our pro tips…
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Track the convergence developments in AI technology and your biggest learning needs to find the sweet spot for innovation
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Start small with demos or proof-of-concepts to create the best conditions for learning from your work
Getting the buy-in
Close collaboration was vital to bring the project to life. A live prototype was showcased to key stakeholders. We workshopped with key stakeholders utilising existing expertise, considering how it could be embedded to drive the impact of the initiative.
Fostering wider engagement involved aligning the initiative with London Business School’s existing curriculum and the needs and wants of broader groups from executive Education and Advancement (alumni). The app integrates seamlessly into London Business School’s LMS platforms ensuring accessibility for all learners. We addressed privacy concerns proactively by ensuring all AI interactions comply with the institution’s data protection standards—emotional analysis remains device-based, and OpenAI models do not retain data from learners.
The app was designed with a guided, intuitive interface, making AI technology approachable. Learners are introduced to emotional recognition through simple exercises before engaging in the full storytelling simulation.
The AI was trained using London Business School’s faculty content, which is specific, specialist knowledge on what makes for successful business storytelling. So, learners benefit from this knowledge guiding the AI-generated feedback even when they’re using the practice tool alone.
Our pro tips…
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Get all your stakeholders involved from the very beginning to avoid projects getting derailed
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Be proactive about IT and data concerns
Proving the use case
Make Real and London Business School carried out a study on how effective this new experience was compared to traditional methods. Compared to control group, learners using the AI practice tool reported:
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7% increase in confidence of storytelling skills
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21% greater understanding of their personal storytelling strengths
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19% greater understanding of areas to improve in
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17% greater understanding of how to effectively structure their story
But innovating doesn’t stop there. It continues when you take your results and continue to develop and tweak based on the feedback. An iterative, research-driven approach ensures that AI actually adds value to this use case rather than being used for its own sake.
Our pro tips…
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Be clear about your objectives and what good results look like for your use case
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Be honest about how it stacks up against traditional methods – that you aren’t using tech for its own sake
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Contact the team
Tess Buckley
Tess Buckley
A digital ethicist and musician, Tess holds a MA in AI and Philosophy, specialising in ableism in biotechnologies. Their professional journey includes working as an AI Ethics Analyst with a dataset on corporate digital responsibility, followed by supporting the development of a specialised model for sustainability disclosure requests. Currently at techUK as programme manager in digital ethics and AI safety, Tess focuses on demystifying and operationalising ethics through assurance mechanisms and standards. Their primary research interests encompass AI music systems, AI fluency, and technology created by and for differently abled individuals. Their overarching goal is to apply philosophical principles to make emerging technologies both explainable and ethical.
Outside of work Tess enjoys kickboxing, ballet, crochet and jazz music.
- Email:
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- tessbuckley.me
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