DevLearn 2026 Recap: AI, Practice, and Real Behavior Change

In this DevLearn 2026 recap, we share what L&D leaders told us in Las Vegas, what our customer VML said on the Expo Stage, and what it all means for 2027 learning plans. The question we heard most wasn’t “should we use AI in learning?” It was “how do we prove it changed what people actually do?”

For three days, November 4 to 6, the Yoodli team was at Booth 662 in the MGM Grand Expo Hall. We talked with L&D leaders, enablement teams, and learning designers about where AI fits in their programs, and where it doesn’t.

DevLearn 2026 recap: VML on the Expo Stage

On Thursday, Yoodli CRO Josh Vitello and Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning at VML, took the Expo Stage for “AI Won’t Make You a Better Leader.” The session looked at what AI really changes in leadership development, and what it doesn’t.

VML is a 26,000-person global agency. Its leadership program, Hi, gives managers a place to rehearse difficult conversations with AI roleplays before they have them for real. The idea behind it is simple: most managers don’t lack knowledge. They lack reps.

The session covered four ideas L&D teams can use now:

• Confidence is not competence. Training often builds the feeling of readiness without the skill. Practice closes that gap.
• AI practice makes reps cheap. A manager can run a tough feedback conversation five times in a lunch break, with no peer awkwardness and no stakes.
• AI can help teach empathy. Realistic practice partners surface how a message lands, not only what it says.
• Use the time AI saves on people skills. Research from UC Berkeley Haas found that AI tools tend to fill the time they free up with more tasks. Teams that want better conversations have to protect that time on purpose.

"“Our managers knew what a good feedback conversation looked like. What they didn’t have was a safe place to practice one before it counted.” — Kelly Stuart-Johnson, Global Head of Learning, VML"

Want the full story? Read how VML won four Brandon Hall awards with Hi, built in partnership with Yoodli.

What L&D leaders told us at Booth 662

Over coffee and ice cream, the same three themes kept coming up. They run through this whole DevLearn 2026 recap.

1. Completions aren’t the metric anymore. Leaders want to show behavior change: a manager who handles a hard conversation better, a rep who ramps faster, a new hire who’s ready sooner. Course completions don’t answer the question their executives are asking.

2. AI fluency is now a training program, not a memo. Many teams are rolling out AI tools company-wide and finding that access doesn’t equal adoption. People need practice using AI in their real work, with feedback.

3. Practice has to live in the flow of work. A one-time workshop fades fast. Teams want realistic AI roleplays before the moment that matters, and coaching right inside the tools people already use.

One L&D director at a national healthcare system put it plainly: “My CFO doesn’t care how many people finished the module. She wants to know if our nurse managers are having better conversations.”

A sales enablement lead from a SaaS company added: “We gave everyone an AI license in March. By June, half of them had never opened it.”

A CLO’s view from the floor

DevLearn capped a busy first month for Mike Mather, Yoodli’s new Chief Learning Advisor and former Chief Learning Officer at KPMG. In three weeks he went from CLO Exchange in New York to HR Tech to DevLearn.

"“A year ago, CLOs asked me whether AI belonged in learning. This month, every one of them asked how to prove it’s working. That’s the right question, and it starts with measuring what people do, not what they complete.” — Mike Mather, Chief Learning Advisor, Yoodli"

After hours with the L&D Coalition

Thursday ended at Topgolf Las Vegas with the L&D Coalition happy hour. Thank you to everyone who came out to swap notes, swing a few clubs, and keep the conversation going.

Key takeaways from our DevLearn 2026 recap

If this DevLearn 2026 recap has one message, it’s that L&D teams are done measuring activity. They want proof that people got better at the work.

Yoodli is the AI Platform for Human Skills. Enterprise teams use it to onboard employees, train people on AI tools, run certifications, and put a coach inside their workflow. The goal is the same one we heard all week: measurable behavior change, not course completions.

Missed us in Vegas? Talk to our team and we’ll show you how teams like VML put practice to work. Next up, catch us at Sales Enablement Collective in Toronto, November 12 to 13.

Happy speaking!

DevLearn 2026 recap FAQ

When and where was DevLearn 2026?

DevLearn 2026 Conference & Expo ran November 4 to 6, 2026, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

What were the biggest themes at DevLearn 2026?

Measuring behavior change instead of completions, building AI fluency across the workforce, and moving practice into the flow of work.

How does VML use AI to train managers?

VML’s leadership program, Hi, lets managers at the 26,000-person agency rehearse difficult conversations with AI before having them for real, using Yoodli. Read the VML story.

How can L&D teams measure behavior change, not just completions?

By assessing how people perform in realistic practice scenarios over time, then tracking whether those skills show up in real work. Yoodli scores practice against the skills a team defines, so leaders see progress, not just participation.

What is Yoodli?

Yoodli is the AI Platform for Human Skills. Enterprise teams use it to onboard employees, train people on AI tools, run certifications, and put a coach inside their workflow.