Top learning and development solution providers automate nearly 60% of learning processes, while AI-powered learning content generation enhances employee engagement.

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT), a leading Gen AI consulting and enterprise digital transformation firm, has released its latest Digital World Class^® Matrix, focusing on the learning and development software marketplace. The report examines how enhanced employee engagement, strategic upskilling and advanced technologies – such as AI-powered content generation – are impacting learning strategies.

The research comes at a time when organizations are struggling to understand their current workforce’s skills and how to elevate learning initiatives to meaningful strategic impact. According to The Hackett Group’s 2026 Human Resources Key Issues Study, 76% of organizations plan to use Gen AI solutions to document skills across their organizations – up from 40% in the previous year. With that greater understanding of existing skills, human resources (HR) leaders are now tasked with extensive upskilling powered by advanced learning and development software solutions.

The Learning and Development Software Digital World Class^® Matrix provides an in-depth guide to the market’s most impactful learning technology providers, including how their solutions enhance learning through advanced content generation, content curation, automation and more. The report evaluated 19 providers based on their capabilities and the value they deliver to customers, using vendor briefings and extensive customer interviews across 28 criteria.

Capability ratings assess a vendor’s capacity to provide learning solutions across critical operational areas, including automation, skills mapping, learning modalities, content creation and analytics. They also assess core platform functionalities such as user interface quality, platform structure and data integration.

Value realization ratings assess a vendor’s impact across key metrics for learning performance, including implementation experience, cost reduction, workload reduction, automation improvement, employee engagement, content delivery, performance improvement, business value and pace of innovation.

The findings are clear: HR organizations engaging with advanced software providers are realizing significant value. End users report that on average 58% of their learning processes are fully automated, dramatically reducing workloads for payroll HR administrators. Additionally, end users report an average of 50% in cost reduction for learning processes.

Leading learning and development vendors are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to speed content generation and consumption across workforces. Using AI-guided solutions, end-users are creating hyper-specific learning content that strategically targets critical skills to drive their businesses forward. Advanced analytics are capturing skills from across the employee life cycle and providing competitive benchmarking intelligence to guide business strategy.

“Learning and development software providers are making large strides in AI utilization to improve outcomes,” said Matthew Merker, senior research director for HCM Market Intelligence at The Hackett Group^®. “Through advanced content generation and curation capabilities, HR professionals are enhancing the relevancy of learning content to employees’ roles and improving alignment with overall business strategy, further elevating their role as strategic advisors to their businesses.”

Using this comprehensive analysis, learning and development professionals can make informed purchasing decisions that align with the strategic priorities and workforce upskilling outcomes they seek to impact.

Learning and Development Digital World Class^® assessments are part of The Hackett Group’s full 82-page report. The Learning and Development Digital World Class^® assessments should be read in the context of the entire report. Download a complimentary summary of the learning research with registration. Contact us for inquiries about purchasing the full research report.

The Hackett Group^® does not endorse any participant, vendor, product or service depicted in its research. This research should not be considered as advice that a reader select only those participants based on their ranking or position on The Hackett Group^® Digital World Class^® Matrix. You should not rely upon any material or information within this research as a basis for making any business, legal, financial or any other decisions.

About The Hackett Group^®

The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) is a Gen AI strategic consulting and executive advisory firm that enables Digital World Class^® performance. Using AI XPLR™ and ZBrain™ – our ideation through implementation platforms – our experienced professionals help organizations realize the power of Gen AI and achieve quantifiable, breakthrough results, allowing us to be key architects of their Gen AI journey.

Our expertise is grounded in unparalleled best practices insights from benchmarking the world’s leading businesses – including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 90% of the Fortune 100, 70% of the DAX 40 and 51% of the FTSE 100. Visit us at www.thehackettgroup.com.

Trademarks

The Hackett Group^®, quadrant logo, and Digital World Class^® are the registered marks of The Hackett Group^®.

Cautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Statements

This release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements including without limitation, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” or other similar phrases or variations of such words or similar expressions indicating, present or future anticipated or expected occurrences or outcomes are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include without limitation, the ability of The Hackett Group^® to effectively market its digital transformation, our ability to transition our capabilities to support generative artificial intelligence (AI)-related consulting services and solutions and other consulting services, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions into our operations, our ability to manage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture partners, competition from other consulting and technology companies that may have or develop in the future, similar offerings, the commercial viability of The Hackett Group^® and its services as well as other risk detailed in The Hackett Group’s reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Hackett Group^® does not undertake any duty to update this release or any forward-looking statements contained herein.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251117221126/en/

HR organizations engaging with advanced software providers are realizing significant value. End users report that on average 58% of their learning processes are fully automated, dramatically reducing workloads for payroll and HR administrators.