AI is still in the early stages across many industries, but there’s no question that it has already been
transformational. At Advantexe, we’re seeing firsthand how AI can elevate leadership development learning engagements, especially in the areas of developing business acumen and leadership skills.

One of the most exciting innovations we have recently launched is the AI Board of Directors (BOD) Debriefing Tool. Traditionally, after learners complete a business simulation workshop, we challenge them to present their strategy, goals, objectives, results, and guidance to a fictional board of directors, explaining what they did, why they did it, and where their simulated companies are going in the future, which simulates the real-world process leaders go through every quarter. These presentations help learners solidify their thinking, connect decisions to outcomes, and improve communication skills.

Now, we’ve taken this process to the next level with the support of AI.

When tariffs hit (or don’t hit and then hit again), the impact isn’t always immediately clear, but the consequences can be significant. One of our consumer-packaged goods (CPG) clients recently found themselves in this tough situation. Their supply chain team was dealing with escalating costs from new international tariffs, but they couldn’t fully grasp how those changes were affecting the rest of the business, or how to build internal alignment around the best response.

To bridge that gap, we partnered with them to create a dynamic learning experience that combined business simulation with AI-powered roleplay exercises to emulate having very challenging conversations. The focus was on helping learners gain a clearer understanding of how tariffs impact a business and what it may take to respond to these increased costs.

As part of Advantexe’s tradition at ATD, we like to feature a special business simulation designed just for conference learners. Something timely, relevant, and hands-on. This year, we introduced a new experience focused on a hot-topic business challenge: tariffs.

Rather than just talking about simulation-centric learning, we invited attendees to experience it through a scenario that put them in the role of a decision-maker responding to a sudden surge in global tariffs.

The goal wasn’t to teach global trade policy. It was to demonstrate how external business disruptions ripple across everyday business decisions and how simulation, combined with our new AI feedback tool, Simi™, can create immersive and hands-on learning that makes an impact.

It’s trade show season, and Advantexe is heading to the ATD International Conference & EXPO, the talent development industry’s largest and most influential event. With thousands of attendees and hundreds of booths, one thing is clear: AI will dominate the conversation.

My guess is that nearly every vendor on the floor will be showcasing or name-dropping some form of AI. Whether it’s “AI-powered coaching,” “AI personalization,” or “AI-generated learning,” the buzz will be everywhere. But as a participant, how do you cut through the hype?

Not all AI is created equal. And not all vendors are using it in the same way, or with the same level of responsibility, transparency, or actual impact on learning outcomes.

One of the most interesting and relevant things about Advantexe’s business acumen simulations is that they track all user inputs and results as they set and execute a business strategy in a learning-by-doing format. We recently conducted an intensive business acumen workshop for a group of emerging leaders, and we used AI to analyze the simulation data from more than 50 teams, each with about 5 participants. We leveraged our new and innovative machine learning tool developed by our internal AI team, which we are building into all our simulations. Our goal? To uncover trends in R&D investment and innovation focus so that we can share insights and data with our clients about the trends and culture of participants in our simulation-centric workshops. More and more, our clients are asking for training programs that help to push innovation, especially within their R&D teams.

The results were astounding! Even in a risk-free simulation, where participants could test strategies without real-world consequences, there was a strong apprehension about investing in short-term and long-term R&D. Most teams seem to prioritize short-term efficiencies and cost management to drive margins over long-term innovation and “being bold.”

So why the hesitation? Based on our data and interviews with participants, here are three thoughts and suggestions on how to address the issues we uncovered.