By George Hanshaw
We’ve always thought of new technology as tools. You pick it up, press the button, and it does something for you. Simple. That’s how we treated calculators, word processors, and even the early internet.
But AI? AI is a little different.
Here’s the funny part—people keep treating AI like it’s just another tool or gadget. “What’s the deal with AI? You ask it a question, it gives you an answer, then you’re supposed to move on.” That’s fine if all you want is a glorified search engine.
But what if you stopped thinking of it as a tool and started treating it like… a teammate?
Imagine you’re in a brainstorming session. Normally, you’re staring at a blank page, or everyone in the room is recycling the same old ideas. But when AI’s in the room, it throws out options you wouldn’t have thought of—some brilliant, some bizarre, and some that make you laugh out loud. It’s not a silent hammer waiting for you to swing it. It’s another voice at the table.
And here’s the practical point: In L&D, that shift changes everything. Instead of just “using AI” to make tasks faster, we can work with AI to make the learning experience better. We’re not replacing people; we’re expanding what’s possible when you have a colleague who never gets tired, doesn’t get embarrassed, and can keep generating ideas until you’re ready to stop.
So the question isn’t: “How can I use AI?” The better question is: “How can I work with AI?”
From Tool to Teammate: What’s the Difference?
Think about a hammer. You swing it, it drives the nail. End of story. That’s a tool. Useful, but silent. You don’t expect it to argue about whether the nail should even go there in the first place.
Now think about a teammate. You say, “Let’s build this,” and they say, “Sure, but what if we tried it this way?” That’s not just doing what you asked—it’s adding something. That’s what AI can do—if you let it.
Here’s the difference, plain and simple:
- AI as a tool: You tell it exactly what to do. It generates text, grades a quiz, or spits out a graphic. Like a blender—you put stuff in, you get a smoothie out. No surprises.
- AI as a teammate: It engages with you, offers alternatives, or shows you patterns you didn’t see. The back and forth is where the power of the tool lies for us in L&D.
In L&D, this means AI isn’t just the silent assistant working in the background. It’s the active partner you can bounce ideas off of, the coach that role-plays with learners, or the analyst who whispers insights in your ear about what’s working and what’s not. If you haven’t had a voice conversation with a GPT you created to be a teammate, you are missing out on a very practical way to increase your effectiveness.
Case Examples in L&D
How the GPT responds is largely up to the prompt that you write to engage with your new teammate. If you aren’t getting the interactions you want, then adjust the prompt.
Design Collaboration
Were you just given a new project or need help on some aspect of a project? This is the perfect fit for your AI teammate. Instead of staring at a blank slide deck or trying to dream up five icebreakers, enter into a conversation with your AI teammate.
I have found that using the mobile version of your favorite AI teammate where you can have an active conversation is extremely helpful. There is something about being able to verbalize your thoughts and engage in conversation that really helps with the creative process.
Learning Facilitation
AI can also be a practice partner for learners. Instead of only answering questions, it engages in dialogue. A learner practicing a coaching conversation can role-play with AI and get immediate responses—no waiting for a peer, no awkward silences. It’s like having a teammate who never gets tired of playing the other side of the role-play. The prompt for this that I use is at the end of the article. Feel free to use it and adjust so it works for you.
Evaluation & Feedback
Traditionally, we’ve used AI for grading or flagging answers. This is useful, but limited. As a teammate, AI can go farther: It can spot patterns across learners and highlight insights. For example, it might notice, “Most of the class missed this step in the process,” which is less about scores and more about feedback that shapes future learning.
I use this approach with end-of-course surveys, where my AI teammate helps group responses into themes and uncovers trends I might have missed. One of my favorite questions to ask is, “What do you find interesting in this data set?” That simple back-and-forth often surfaces perspectives I hadn’t considered.
Think of it as having a colleague who not only runs the numbers but also sparks new ways of seeing them. And yes—you can even ask your AI to respond in character (Sheldon Cooper, anyone?) to make the process more engaging.
Changing Roles in L&D
If AI is a teammate, then our role in L&D shifts too. We’re not just “users” of the technology—we’re conductors of the orchestra. We design the space where AI plays an active role, and we decide how humans and AI work together. We are responsible for anything that we create together as well.
That requires a few new skills:
- Prompting as communication: Crafting questions and instructions that bring out the best in AI.
- Critical evaluation: Knowing when AI is bluffing—or flat-out wrong. Always challenge your AI teammate.
- Ethical awareness: Making sure we use AI responsibly, without bias or shortcuts that undercut learning.
Ethical Awareness
If we treat AI as a teammate, we also inherit responsibility for how that teammate behaves. AI doesn’t have ethics—we do. That means we must stay accountable for every decision made with AI, just as we would for the work of a human colleague.
A few key areas matter in L&D:
- Bias and Fairness: AI can unintentionally reinforce biases in content or assessments. Always review outputs with an equity lens.
- Privacy and Data Use: Protect learner data and be transparent about when and how AI is being used. Learners should know if AI is analyzing their work or conversations.
- Accuracy and Accountability: AI sometimes “hallucinates” or makes confident mistakes. As professionals, it’s our job to fact-check and validate. Never let AI be the final word.
- Role Clarity: Position AI as a support, not a replacement for human empathy, judgment, and mentorship in learning.
AI can be a valuable teammate, but we remain the team lead. The human professional is responsible for ensuring ethical, accurate, and learner-centered outcomes.
Practical Strategies for L&D Professionals
So how do you start? A few simple moves:
- Start small: Pick one project where AI can act like a teammate. Maybe it’s brainstorming discussion prompts or drafting role-play scenarios.
- Co-create with learners: Encourage learners to use AI as a practice buddy, not just a search engine.
- Embed AI into the workflow: Don’t tack it on at the end. Make it part of the design and facilitation process.
- Track the impact: Look at engagement, clarity, and performance differences. What changed when AI was a teammate instead of just a tool?
The Future of AI as a Teammate
The future isn’t us versus the machine, it’s us with the machine. AI will be woven into every part of the learning journey, from design to facilitation to evaluation. For some of us it already is.
Humans bring empathy, creativity, and meaning-making. AI brings scale, speed, and endless energy. Put them together, and you get something bigger than either one alone.
The culture shift happens when we stop treating AI like a toaster and start treating it like a colleague. Not perfect, not infallible, but a valuable teammate.
Conclusion: Bringing It All Together
The real opportunity with AI in L&D isn’t just about doing things faster. It’s about changing the relationship. From tool to teammate. From automation to collaboration.
So here’s your challenge: Try one experiment this quarter. Pick a task, big or small, and let AI play the role of a teammate. See how it changes your work. Worst case, you get a few oddball ideas. Best case, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it.
Download the AI As a Teammate Handout
Download this guide for suggestions on prompting your AI tool to assist in design and in practicing critical conversations.
Image credit: NanoStokk
