AI agents with aptitude

“The more we learn about AI, the more we realize
how far it still has to go.”
– Yoshua Bengio

AI assistants for learning are evolving fast—and now we’re seeing the rise of agentic AI. These tools don’t just respond; they act. They make decisions, take steps, and operate with a level of autonomy that looks impressive in demos and feels powerful in practice.

But before you roll out an AI learning assistant, it’s worth slowing down long enough to ask a simple question: What are you actually getting?

Whether you do it yourself or work with a partner, building from scratch can feel risky. It might feel empowering until issues show up. Inconsistent responses. Shaky instructional design. Unclear data sources. Governance questions no one thought to ask. Hallucinations.

That’s why today we’re excited to share with you a valuable benchmarking tool created by Mike O’Brien, author of Assisting Intelligence: How to Build Authentic in the Age of AI and Practical AI Style, and a recognized expert in digital learning and applying AI in learning & development.

The benchmarks help you evaluate learning AI assistants based on what really matters—technical foundation, knowledge & safety, and effectiveness.

We know Mike through our thought leader Kelly Dozois of Ocean Beach Consulting, who has been having him build AI assistants for her research-backed learning frameworks on influencing, storytelling, and managing effectively—bringing real learning rigor, consistency, and performance support into the design.

Before you scale AI, take a look under the hood. Smart benchmarks today can take your AI assistants and agents to new heights and keep them from misbehaving tomorrow.

Download your copy here:  AI Assistant Benchmark Scorecard, an evaluation framework for learning AI tools

Contact us or ask your Advantage partner to see the latest AI tools Mike and Kelly have built into Influence Inside, Influencing with Story, and Managing Success from Ocean Beach Consulting.

One great thing for 02.10.26 – How to build an AI coach inside your course, a webinar Feb. 24 featuring Mike O’Brien, LearnWorld, & Zapier (don’t miss Mike’s description on LinkedIn)