Revenue
Increased revenue, product activation, and active users.
Research report · The 2026 State of
Education-Led Growth Report
How companies turn education into a strategic growth engine. Original survey data from 190 education leaders on business outcomes, AI adoption, marketing, and measurement.
92.6%of education teams now use AI
81.6%prioritize revenue as a business outcome
49%measure impact within 3 months of launch, up from 35% in 2025
+20 ptsyear-over-year rise in programs targeting customer expansion
Key findings
Five shifts defining education in 2026
The report at a glance: one headline number per shift. The full data is in each section below.
- 01
Education is moving from retention to revenue.
See business outcomes →81.6%prioritize revenue outcomesFocus on customer expansion is up 20 points year over year.
- 02
AI is everyday practice, not an experiment.
See AI adoption →92.6%of education teams use AIWritten content creation is the top planned use, at 69.9%.
- 03
Teams are measuring impact sooner.
See measurement →49%measure within 3 months of launchUp from 35% in 2025. Programs that don’t measure fell from 28% to 5%.
- 04
Education is part of go-to-market.
See go-to-market →56.4%say education is very closely tied to product successPrograms with little or no alignment dropped from 32% to 9.6%.
- 05
Executive leadership is rising.
See team structure →22.2%report executive-level education leadershipC-level and VP-led programs report higher completion and broader analytics use.
Education has become a strategic lever for how organizations grow, adapt, and perform. The organizations that combine strong measurement, thoughtful use of AI, and a focus on enabling every audience will be the ones that lead.
Definition
What is Education-Led Growth?
Education-Led Growth (ELG) is a strategic framework positioning employee, customer, and partner education as a primary driver of business growth. By aligning education with revenue, retention, and adoption goals, companies can create measurable business impact.
- 1Outcomes
- 2Audience
- 3Initiative
- 4Resources
- 5Delivery
- 6Marketing
- 7Measurement
↺ Continuous improvement: measurement feeds back into outcomes
Survey demographics
Who we surveyed
190 verified education leaders, primarily U.S.-based, from enterprise organizations across manufacturing, technology, education, retail, and more.
190verified respondents
74.2%work at companies with $100M+ in annual revenue
55.3%work in manufacturing or technology
49.5%hold Director-level roles
Manufacturing27.9%
Technology27.4%
Education13.2%
Retail12.1%
Software5.8%
Business services5.3%
Finance / insurance3.2%
Consulting / specialty1.6%
Energy1.6%
Healthcare1.1%
Telecommunications0.5%
Biotechnology0.5%
100–499 employees20%
500–999 employees26.3%
1,000–4,999 employees34.2%
5,000–19,999 employees12.6%
20,000+ employees6.8%
15.8%C-level
11.6%VP
49.5%Director
23.2%Manager
$1M–$99M25.8%
$100M–$199M14.7%
$200M–$299M9.5%
$300M–$399M11.6%
$400M–$499M7.9%
$500M–$1B15.8%
$1B–$5B7.4%
More than $5B6.9%
Source: Intellum, 2026 State of Education-Led Growth Report (n = 190). Percentages rounded to the nearest tenth.
How education teams are structured
Education teams are embedded across the business.
Most education teams report into HR / Learning & Development (25.8%), Education Services (12.6%), or Professional Services (12.1%).
HR / Learning & Development25.8%
Education Services12.6%
Professional Services12.1%
Customer Experience10.5%
Marketing7.4%
Education is its own department7.4%
Sales5.8%
Customer Success5.3%
Other4.7%
Support4.2%
Customer Education / Training4.2%
Director34.2%
Manager17.9%
Senior Manager13.7%
C-level11.1%
Senior Director8.4%
VP7.9%
Head of3.7%
SVP3.2%
22.2% report executive-level leadership, up from 2025, while 31.6% top out at manager or senior manager. C-level and VP-led programs report higher completion rates and greater use of data visualization tools.
Customer Support58.9%
Customer Success58.4%
Product55.3%
Sales54.7%
Marketing48.4%
Customer Experience23.7%
Collaboration with Customer Experience remains less common (23.7%)—an opportunity to connect education with the broader customer journey.
Less than 20%3.3%
21–40%21.4%
41–60%32.4%
61–80%27.5%
81–100%15.4%
Internal L&D audiences complete at the highest rates. 42.1% of prospect programs and 36.5% of partner programs report completion below 20%.
53.6%Yes: both on-demand and live
26.5%No, we don’t charge
13.9%Yes: only live training
6%Yes: only on-demand training
Business outcomes
Revenue and performance metrics take priority.
The Education-Led Growth framework focuses on four core business outcomes. Cost reduction remains the least prioritized—most organizations position education as a growth driver, not just an efficiency tool.
Performance
Improved ramp time, goal attainment, and skill proficiency.
Retention
Reduced churn, improved sentiment, and improved product adoption.
Cost reduction
Reduced content creation, support, and onboarding costs.
Education priorities shift toward revenue and efficiency as teams scale.
Larger teams (51–99 and 100+ people) are most likely to prioritize revenue growth (~55%) while also showing the strongest focus on cost reduction—especially the 51–99 group (69%). Smaller teams of 5–10 also track revenue and cost closely.
Respondents selected from 12 objectives (select all that apply), grouped into four outcomes.
Audience strategy
Education reaches every audience—employees, customers, partners, and prospects.
Q: Which audiences do you educate? (Select all that apply.) Employees includes L&D, product enablement, and sales enablement.
87.4%Employees
63.1%Customers
46.8%Partners
43.1%Prospects
Marketing52%
Sales63.8%
Implementation & onboarding88.8%
Product adoption88.8%
Retention / renewal78.9%
Expansion76.3%
Advocacy40.8%
Initiative strategy
Skills and enablement remain the foundation.
More than 94% of respondents run skills & enablement initiatives—the most common education use case by a wide margin. The mix is largely consistent with 2025.
Skills & enablement94.2%
Onboarding71.1%
Certifications66.8%
Compliance60.5%
Training videos (e.g., how-tos)68.4%
Virtual instructor-led training59.5%
Instructor-led training (in person)57.4%
Knowledge base / help articles55.8%
Certification program55.8%
On-demand, long-form videos48.4%
Customer community42.1%
Published training documentation41.6%
Prebuilt courseware or training modules41.6%
Custom eLearning41.6%
In-app guides34.2%
Source: Intellum, 2026 State of Education-Led Growth Report (n = 190).
Resource strategy
Team size tracks company size—and most teams lean on outside experts.
The largest share of respondents (22.6%) run teams of 11–20 people, followed by 100+ (20%) and 21–50 (19.5%).
Small teams
8.4%1–4 people
14.2%5–10 people
Medium teams
22.6%11–20 people
19.5%21–50 people
Large teams
15.3%51–99 people
20%100+ people
External vendors play a key role in resource strategy.
83.1%use outside vendors or partners
16.9% do not use an external vendor. Vendors are used across company and team sizes.
Pre-built / ready-made learning content50.3%
Custom content development49.7%
Instructional / curriculum design39.5%
Learning technology / platform support37.6%
Education strategy / program design28%
Education marketing & promotion25.5%
Learner engagement & community management24.8%
Certification / exam development24.2%
AI in education
AI is now widely adopted across education programs.
92.6%use AI today
AI has moved from experimentation to practical implementation. Forrester’s 2024 research projected 99.6% of organizations would use AI by 2026; only 7.4% of education teams surveyed do not.
Smaller companies (100–499 employees) focus on immediate output: written content, assessments, and scalable multimedia.
Midmarket and large companies (500–4,999) focus more on content planning.
The largest enterprises (20,000+) focus most on data analysis.
Written content creation69.9%
Learner support automation (chatbots)65.3%
Content planning65.3%
Data analysis / visualization59.1%
Adaptive learning / virtual tutoring57%
Predictive insights (impact / outcomes)57%
Assessment creation55.4%
Scalable multimedia / accessibility54.4%
Transcription / translation48.2%
Marketing strategy
Marketing support varies significantly by education audience.
External-only teams have the strongest support: 37.5% have a dedicated marketer and nearly 72% have dedicated marketing resources. Internal-only teams are the most constrained—40% report no marketing support.
36.4%have dedicated resources from marketing
33.5%have a dedicated marketer on the education team
21.4%do their own marketing without a dedicated marketer
8.7%have no marketing resources for education
Personalized outreach from other departments63.7%
Email marketing58.4%
Social media55.8%
Website banners and pop-ups44.7%
Inclusion in product launch or sales collateral38.9%
Paid advertising (PPC, sponsored content)37.9%
In-app messaging36.8%
Automated reminder emails for incomplete courses54.7%
Email campaigns promoting new or relevant content54.2%
Regular webinars or live sessions53.7%
Personalized learning paths50%
Community engagement (forums, user groups)46.8%
Incentives / gamification (badges, certificates)45.3%
Measurement strategy
Most education leaders start measuring impact soon after launch.
Programs that measure earlier are also more likely to use specialized eLearning analytics tools—faster measurement correlates with more mature analytics capabilities.
- Immediately27%Up from 25% in 2025
- Within 3 months49%Up from 35% in 2025
- 6–12 months18%
- 1 year or more16%
- Not consistently measured5%Down from 28% in 2025
Customer relationship management (CRM)55.3%
Support software51.6%
Survey and feedback platforms45.8%
Data visualization42.6%
Learning management system (LMS)41.1%
Customer success tool36.8%
Certification and credentialing platforms36.3%
Video hosting and analytics34.7%
Marketing automation software32.6%
eLearning analytics tools31.6%
Data warehouse27.9%
Product analytics26.3%
HCM or ERP12.6%
Lack of integration between systems31%
Lack of clear metrics or KPIs to define success26.8%
None of these are obstacles for our team25.8%
Limited visibility into engagement or content effectiveness23.7%
Difficulty aligning education metrics with business goals23.7%
Time constraints prevent consistent tracking23.2%
Limited or no training on metrics and analytics tools22.1%
Lack of executive buy-in for measurement20.5%
No BI or data analytics resources18.9%
No access to platforms that hold key data16.8%
Don’t know how to analyze the data we have8.4%
Source: Intellum, 2026 State of Education-Led Growth Report (n = 190). Multi-select questions may total more than 100%.
The role of education in go-to-market
Education is integral to go-to-market strategy—with room to grow.
Only 9.6% report minimal or no alignment with product success, down sharply from 32% in 2025—education teams are becoming more integrated into go-to-market strategy.
56.4%Very closely
34%Somewhat closely
8.5%Minimally
1.1%Not at all
Supports customer onboarding and adoption59.5%
Builds brand loyalty and customer retention58.9%
Generates upsell and cross-sell opportunities54.7%
Enhances partner enablement46.3%
Drives demand generation by attracting new leads44.7%
Not currently integrated into go-to-market5.8%
Key recommendations
Five ways to design education for real business impact
Based on the 2026 data.
- 01
Design programs with measurement built in from the start.
Define success metrics before launch, put the necessary systems and integrations in place, and establish reporting workflows so you can track outcomes as soon as the program goes live.
- 02
Prioritize the audiences and lifecycle stages with the clearest business value.
Most programs already support implementation, adoption, and retention well. Extend education into expansion and other high-value moments rather than spreading resources thin.
- 03
Strengthen the systems around your LMS.
Business impact is often proven through connected data from CRM, support, and analytics platforms. Improve the integrations and reporting that connect learning to business outcomes.
- 04
Use AI where it saves time fastest.
Start with high-volume, repeatable work—drafting content, summarizing material, or powering support workflows—before expanding into more advanced use cases.
- 05
Use outside expertise selectively.
Partners are most often used for content development, instructional design, and platform support. If bandwidth is limited, get help where it’s hardest to scale alone.
About the survey
Research methodology
- Survey period
- Nov 2025 – Feb 2026
- Sample size
- 190 total respondents
- Design
- 34 questions
- Primarily multiple choice and “select all that apply.”
- Participants
- Recruited through Customer Education Slack, the Customer Education Management Association, email campaigns, LinkedIn, and Centiment.
- Verification
- Respondents verified by name and email to ensure valid entries.
- Response handling
- Skipped questions were excluded from calculations. Percentages rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
- Tools used
- Survicate and Centiment for data collection; analysis in Google Sheets, including descriptive statistics and cross-question analysis.
- Business outcomes
- Respondents chose from 12 objectives, grouped into revenue, retention, performance, and cost reduction.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about the 2026 Education-Led Growth Report
What is Education-Led Growth?
Education-Led Growth (ELG) is a strategic framework that positions employee, customer, and partner education as a primary driver of business growth. By aligning education with revenue, retention, and adoption goals, companies create measurable business impact.
What percentage of education teams use AI?
92.6% of education teams use AI, according to Intellum’s 2026 Education-Led Growth Report. The most common planned use is written content creation (69.9%), followed by learner support automation and content planning (65.3% each).
Which business outcomes do education programs prioritize?
Revenue is the top priority (81.6%), followed by performance (75.3%), retention (68.9%), and cost reduction (60%).
How soon do education teams measure business impact?
27% measure immediately after launch and 49% begin within three months, up from 35% in 2025. Only 5% don’t measure consistently, down from 28%.
What is the biggest challenge in measuring education’s impact?
Lack of integration between systems (31%), followed by a lack of clear metrics or KPIs (26.8%). 25.8% of teams report no major measurement obstacles.
Which audiences do companies educate?
Employees (87.4%), customers (63.1%), partners (46.8%), and prospects (43.1%).
Do companies charge for customer education?
Most do: 53.6% of external programs charge for both on-demand and live training, 13.9% charge only for live training, and 6% only for on-demand. 26.5% don’t charge.
Who took the survey?
190 verified education leaders, primarily U.S.-based, surveyed November 2025 through February 2026. 74.2% work at organizations with more than $100M in annual revenue.
Share and cite
Want to share this report?
A rising tide lifts all boats—sharing this data helps elevate the profession of customer education. Our only request: cite and link to this report.
Suggested citation
Intellum. (2026). The 2026 State of Education-Led Growth Report: How Companies Turn Education Into a Strategic Growth Engine. https://www.intellum.com/resources/education-led-growth-report-2026
Short attribution for a statistic
“92.6% of education teams use AI.” — Intellum 2026 Education-Led Growth Report
Recommended resources
Not sure which metrics prove impact?The Practical Guide to Metrics→Making the case to formalize or expand education?Business Case Template→Need data on customer education impact?2024 Customer Education Benchmarks & Trends (Forrester)→Looking for practical ways to apply AI?The Learning Leader’s Guide to AI→
About Intellum
Intellum provides a corporate education platform that includes all the tools an organization needs to create, deploy, manage, track, and continuously improve highly personalized, engaging educational experiences.