AI in e-learning: smarter course creation

AI in e-learning is a hot topic. But most of what you read about it focuses on a future that doesn’t exist yet. Fully adaptive, personalized learning experiences sound exciting, but they’re not how most L&D teams use AI today.

And that’s okay.

You don’t need futuristic tech to make a real impact. If you work in L&D, you’re probably looking for ways to create faster learning experiences without stretching your team too thin. That’s where AI makes a real difference.

In this article, we’ll explore the use of AI in e-learning, focusing on what it can actually do for you right now. We’ll show how AI tools for e-learning help you convert static content into company-tailored training, reduce production time, and create interactive courses at scale. No buzzwords. Just practical value.

What AI in e-learning really means (and doesn’t mean)

There’s a big misconception in the market. When people hear “AI in e-learning,” they often think of real-time personalization, predictive content suggestions, or complex behavioral analysis.

That kind of AI typically sits within Learning Management Systems (LMSs) or Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs). It helps deliver content to learners in more innovative ways. However, your AI focus differs if you use an authoring tool like Easygenerator.

Authoring tools don’t manage content delivery. They help you create learning. And that’s where AI shines right now.

In authoring tools, AI helps:

• Transform files (like PDFs or PowerPoints) into structured courses
• Generate quiz questions based on course content
• Simplify or rewrite complex text
• Generate images, subtitles, and even voiceovers
• Improve accessibility with tools like text-to-speech or autogenerated subtitles
• Translate content quickly for multilingual teams

AI in authoring is about enabling faster, easier course development for anyone with knowledge to share. Whether you’re a learning designer or an SME, AI helps remove the barriers to getting content off the ground.

From static files to interactive courses

Most companies already have the knowledge they need. It lives in documents, slide decks, internal wikis, or training PDFs. The problem is that content isn’t easy to consume. It’s hard to navigate, hard to track, and not built for learning.

That’s why AI features like Doc-to-Course are such a game changer for course creators.

Instead of building a course from scratch, you can upload a document and let AI turn it into a structured, interactive course. In Easygenerator, AI will:

• Extract key information
• Suggest a course outline
• Add section titles and structure
• Create questions based on the content
• Highlight areas to simplify or clarify

You go from zero to draft in minutes. Then, you edit and tailor the course to your learners.

This is especially useful for company-tailored training, such as onboarding, product updates, policy refreshers, or internal process guides. You already have the information; AI just helps you convert it into a better format.

SMEs can start with the files they already use to train peers and turn them into clear, trackable learning assets. L&D teams get to reduce the number of one-off requests for formatting, structure, or e-learning packaging. Everyone wins.

Use AI to create better content, faster

We’ve talked to hundreds of L&D teams. Most of them don’t need help dreaming up new learning formats. What they need is help keeping up with demand.

That’s where AI tools for e-learning come in. You can use them to improve your content on the go:

• Quick actions help SMEs reword text, simplify it, or make it more engaging.
• Question generators suggest quiz questions based on course content.
• Image generators create visuals to break up walls of text.
• Subtitles and text-to-speech make your content more accessible.
• Course outline builders guide authors through creating learning that matches real outcomes.
• Writing assistants offer alternate wording, examples, and formatting tips as you go.

None of this replaces your expertise. It just helps you move faster without losing quality. It gives SMEs more confidence and autonomy, which takes pressure off L&D.

If you’re running an internal academy or enabling knowledge sharing across regions, AI tools can help make sure every author has support, without needing one-on-one help from your learning team.

AI and Employee-generated Learning go hand-in-hand

AI is your new best friend if you’re using or exploring Employee-generated Learning (EGL).

EGL means that employees, especially SMEs, create learning materials and training content themselves. This helps L&D scale their efforts without needing to create every course internally.

But most SMEs aren’t instructional designers. They know their topic well but need help turning it into effective learning.

AI bridges that gap.

Let’s say a sales manager wants to create training for a new product. With AI, they can:

• Upload a slide deck and get a course outline
• Use quick actions to simplify technical jargon
• Generate questions to test product knowledge
• Add custom visuals with image generation
• Translate it into multiple languages for international teams

Now multiply that across IT, product, customer service, and HR departments. With the right tooling, all of them can contribute content that reflects what’s actually happening on the ground. It becomes easier to update learning when policies change, new products launch, or processes shift.

That’s the power of combining EGL with AI.

Smarter scaling for L&D

AI isn’t just about speed. It’s about scale.

We worked with a large telecom company that cut its content creation time by 90% using AI and EGL. Before AI, their L&D team was overwhelmed with requests. After AI, local experts could build their own company-tailored training with minimal support.

This is where AI creates real value:

• You meet growing demand without growing your team
• You publish more content, faster
• You spend less time on formatting and more on strategy
• You give learners what they need, when they need it

When SMEs can contribute at scale, your learning library grows. You start to see coverage in areas of learning content that were always important, but never made it to the top 10 priority list. That’s how organizations begin to build a true corporate brain.

Translate and localize with AI

Many L&D teams support global workforces. That means translating training into multiple languages. Before AI, this required external vendors, long lead times, and big budgets.

Now, AI makes translation faster and more affordable.

EasyAI’s auto-translation add-on translates courses into 75+ languages in seconds. The result isn’t perfect, but it gets you 90% there. Local SMEs can then adjust the translation to fit the cultural context and tone.

This is a fast way to scale company-tailored training across global teams while saving time on localization efforts. It also means you don’t have to wait for the next budget cycle or vendor quote to get started.

Because translation is no longer a bottleneck, you can build training that meets people where they are, in their language, region, and schedule.

What AI won’t (and shouldn’t) do

AI can do a lot. But it won’t do everything, and that’s a good thing.

AI doesn’t:

• Know your company context
• Understand your learners’ specific needs
• Replace good instructional design

AI doesn’t replace your expertise. It supports it. It’s great at generating content ideas, improving structure, and making your courses more accessible, but it still needs your judgment to be effective.

Some tools on the market offer adaptive AI to personalize learning paths based on behavior and performance. These capabilities are exciting, but not always necessary for every organization. If you’re curious about how adaptive AI works, check out our article on how adaptive learning AI improves course creation.

Final takeaway: use AI where it makes the most impact

AI in e-learning doesn’t need to be complicated. You don’t need futuristic features. You need innovative tools that help you create high-quality, company-tailored training at scale.

Start small. Upload a PDF. Try a quick action. Let AI suggest some questions.

Then, decide what to keep and what to rewrite.

Use AI to speed up your workflow, reduce bottlenecks, give SMEs a head start, and help non-designers share what they know.

AI will do the heavy lifting. You bring the context, the knowledge, and the judgment.

That’s where the real value lies.