Research Report · Intellum × Gatepoint Research

2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement

Intellum commissioned Gatepoint Research to survey 152 U.S. executives who lead customer and partner education. The data shows where these programs are headed, where they fall short, and how fast AI is changing the work.

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Respondents
152 executives
Seniority
66% C-suite or VP
Fielded
Jan – Apr 2024
Region
100% U.S.-based
Published
July 2024

The Data at a Glance

8 Customer Education Statistics Leaders Need to Know

Every number below comes from the 2024 Intellum survey of customer and partner education executives.

  • 57%of education leaders say increasing revenue through upsell and cross-sell is a top priority for the next 12–18 months.
  • 47%of organizations have a dedicated customer education team building training for customers and partners.
  • 43%rate their education programs effective or highly effective at supporting business goals. 47% say they’re only middling.
  • 58%name high-quality training content as the most important capability for customer and partner success.
  • 59%expect AI to accelerate content creation, the most-cited AI impact on education programs.
  • 27%are already using AI in their customer and partner education workflows today.
  • 78%expect AI to make a significant impact on their education programs within 12 months, by early 2025.
  • 53%see the reliability of AI output as the biggest obstacle to AI adoption in education.

Executive Summary

Four Trends Shaping Customer Education

In early 2024, Intellum commissioned Gatepoint Research to study how organizations educate and enable their customers and partners. Four findings stood out.

  1. Increasing revenue is the top priority.

    The top two priorities for the next 12–18 months are revenue through upsell and cross-sell (57%) and revenue through new customer acquisition (51%).

  2. Ownership of education varies.

    47% have a dedicated customer education team, but responsibility is spread across product marketing (44%), professional services (39%) and sales enablement (32%).

  3. There’s room to grow in effectiveness.

    Only 10% call their programs ineffective, but 47% rate them a middling 3 out of 5. Most teams have headroom.

  4. AI is making its impact, but will take time to fully root.

    27% already use AI in their workflows and 78% expect real impact by early 2025. Reliability, learning curves and security concerns slow full adoption.

Part 1 · Priorities & Ownership

Education Is Now a Revenue Strategy

Survey Question 1

What are customer and partner education priorities for the next 12 to 18 months?

57%prioritize revenue growth through upsell and cross-sell.

Most leaders are focused on increasing revenue by educating customers and partners, and by growing their customer base (51%). Close behind is improving customer satisfaction (35%), with the ultimate aim of improving retention (34%).

Increase revenue through upsell and cross-sell
57%
Increase revenue through new customer acquisition
51%
Improve customer satisfaction
35%
Increase customer retention
34%
Increase revenue through partner channel
33%
Accelerate customer time to value
18%
Improve product adoption
13%
Scale customer success
11%
Accelerate partner onboarding and success
8%
Reduce support costs
7%
Increase skill and competency levels
7%
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Multiple responses allowed.

Survey Question 2

Which teams develop training material to educate customers and partners?

47%have a dedicated customer education team.

Nearly half rely on a dedicated customer education team, while 44% lean on product marketing for some of this work. Professional services handles part of training development for 39% of respondents. Ownership is shared, and often fragmented.

Customer Education
47%
Product Marketing
44%
Professional Services
39%
Sales Enablement
32%
Customer Success
26%
Partner Marketing & Enablement
26%
Customer Support
22%
Technical Publications & Documentation
14%
Other
3%
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Multiple responses allowed.

Part 2 · Effectiveness & Capabilities

Good Isn’t Good Enough. Quality Content Wins.

Survey Question 3

How effective are customer and partner education programs at supporting business goals?

43%rate their programs effective or highly effective.

Almost half (47%) are middling about the success of their current programs as they relate to business goals. Only 10% rate them below average, which means most teams aren’t broken. They’re stuck in the middle.

1%
9%
47%
32%
11%
12345
1 = Not at all effective5 = Highly effective
Effective or highly effective (43%)Neutral or below (57%)
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Rated on a 1–5 scale.

Survey Question 4

Which education capabilities matter most to drive customer and partner success?

58%say high-quality training content is the #1 capability.

Quality content is the top driver of education success. Enabling customer self-service (45%) and personalizing learning paths across audiences (43%) round out the top three. Surprisingly, fewer rank certifications (22%) and just-in-time training (14%) among the most important capabilities.

Develop high-quality training content
58%
Enable customer self-service
45%
Personalize content and learning paths across multiple audiences
43%
Create excellent learning experiences
38%
Deliver the right content, at the right time and place
38%
Enable customer and/or partner certifications
22%
Deliver just-in-time training
14%
Localize and globalize content development and delivery
10%
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Multiple responses allowed.

Part 3 · The AI Outlook

AI Is Here. Trust Is the Bottleneck.

Education leaders expect AI to change how they create, personalize and measure learning. Most expect that change within a year, and most also see real obstacles in the way.

Survey Question 5

How will AI impact customer and partner education programs in the future?

59%expect AI to accelerate content creation.

AI will change the game for customer and partner education. Beyond faster content creation, 57% anticipate an AI learning assistant and 53% expect more personalized learning paths. There’s room for AI to create efficiencies across the board.

Acceleration of content creation
59%
AI learning assistant
57%
Personalized learning paths
53%
Automated data analysis and predictive insights
46%
AI-generated assessments
38%
Improved transcription and translation
36%
More efficient content planning
28%
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Multiple responses allowed.

Survey Question 6

When will AI start making an impact on customer and partner education programs?

78%expect significant AI impact within 12 months.

More than a quarter of respondents (27%) already incorporate AI into their education workflows. Combined with those expecting impact within 6 months (19%) or 6 to 12 months (32%), 78% expect AI to make a significant impact by early 2025.

27%
19%
32%
15%
7%
NowWithin 6 monthsIn 6 to 12 monthsIn 12 to 18 monthsIn 18+ months
Impact within 12 months (78%)Later (22%)
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Survey fielded January–April 2024.

Survey Question 7

What are the biggest obstacles to AI adoption in customer and partner education?

53%worry about the reliability of AI output.

AI is here to stay, but not without bumps in the road. Beyond reliability, leaders cite the learning curve and a lack of understanding of what’s possible (45%), security and legal constraints (44%) and integration with existing systems (38%).

Reliability of AI output
53%
Learning curve and lack of understanding of possibilities
45%
Security and legal constraints
44%
Integration with existing systems
38%
Risks that come with being an early adopter
33%
Costs and return on investment
29%
Lack of skilled talent
22%
Market confusion and lack of “standard AI features”
21%
Source: Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement (n = 152). Multiple responses allowed.

“The big question will be: how do we maintain quality while using AI to increase speed?”

From the report’s analysis of the AI findings

Methodology

About This Research

Gatepoint Research conducted this survey on behalf of Intellum by inviting selected executives to take part in an online survey themed 2024 Trends in Customer and Partner Education and Enablement. All respondents hold executive or director-level positions.

Respondents
152
U.S.-based
100%
Participated voluntarily
100%
Fielded online
Jan – Apr 2024
Recruitment
Invited via email

Respondents by job level

51% C-suite (CxO)34% Director15% VP

FAQ

Customer Education Trends: Quick Answers

What is the top priority for customer education teams in 2024?

Revenue. 57% of education leaders prioritize increasing revenue through upsell and cross-sell, and 51% prioritize revenue from new customer acquisition, according to Intellum’s 2024 survey of 152 U.S. executives.

Who owns customer and partner education?

It varies. 47% of organizations have a dedicated customer education team, while 44% rely on product marketing, 39% on professional services and 32% on sales enablement to develop training material.

How effective are customer education programs?

43% of leaders rate their programs effective or highly effective at supporting business goals. 47% rate them a neutral 3 out of 5, and 10% rate them below average.

What capability matters most for customer education success?

High-quality training content, cited by 58% of leaders. Customer self-service (45%) and personalized learning paths (43%) follow.

How will AI change customer education?

Leaders expect AI to accelerate content creation (59%), power AI learning assistants (57%) and personalize learning paths (53%). 27% already use AI in their education workflows, and 78% expect significant impact within 12 months.

What are the biggest barriers to AI adoption in customer education?

Reliability of AI output (53%), the learning curve and lack of understanding of possibilities (45%), security and legal constraints (44%) and integration with existing systems (38%).

Who took part in the survey?

152 U.S.-based executives, surveyed online by Gatepoint Research from January to April 2024: 51% C-suite, 34% directors and 15% VPs. Participation was voluntary.

About Intellum

Less Guesswork. More Impact.

Intellum provides a corporate education platform with every tool an organization needs to create, deploy, manage, track and continuously improve highly personalized, engaging educational experiences.

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Suggested citation

Intellum. (2024). 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement. https://www.intellum.com/resources/2024-customer-partner-education-trends

Short attribution for a statistic

78% of customer education leaders expect AI to make a significant impact on their programs within 12 months. (Intellum, 2024 Trends in Customer & Partner Education and Enablement)

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