Designing with Intention: How We Use AI in Learning Design

The words “AI” and “efficiency” often show up in the same sentence. But at WorkWise Design, we’ve learned that speed isn’t the most important thing AI offers.

Used thoughtfully, AI gives us something more valuable: clarity.

It sharpens our curiosity. It helps us explore perspectives we might not have considered. And when the right tools are used with discretion and a critical eye, they allow us to spend more time where it really matters—on the people and the experience we’re designing for.

We don’t treat AI as a solution. We treat it as a support system. Here’s how we integrate it into our creative process, and why it’s never the starting point—or the final word.

Exploring Before We Assume: Using AI as a Research Partner

Every meaningful learning experience starts with curiosity.

We’re often designing for roles we haven’t worked ourselves. These are nuanced, guest-facing positions that carry both operational complexity and emotional labour. And if we’re not careful, it’s easy to oversimplify them.

That’s where we begin—with research. We use AI (typically ChatGPT) to explore a role’s responsibilities, common workplace challenges, and different perspectives on high-stakes interactions. What pressures shape a supervisor’s decision-making? How does a team member experience a late check-in when short-staffed? What soft skills matter most in the flow of a wellness service?

This process doesn’t replace client discovery—it prepares us for it. It helps us ask better questions, uncover blind spots, and approach conversations with more clarity and empathy.

Bringing Scenarios to Life: Designing With Realism

In hospitality and tourism, learning is most effective when it feels personal. And one of the most effective ways to personalize it is through scenario-based learning.

We often use AI to prototype scenario ideas—branching conversations, tone shifts, emotional triggers—before refining them by hand. It’s especially helpful when designing for complex, layered situations: managing guest expectations, navigating internal team conflict, or supporting emotional regulation under pressure.

We’re not just asking AI to “write the scenario.” We’re using it to pressure-test ideas, simulate different responses, and explore how a moment might be interpreted from multiple angles.

From there, we shape something that feels honest. Something your team would actually recognize.

Sound as Experience: Using AI Voice to Match the Way People Learn

In guest-facing work, communication is immediate. Spoken. Personal.

We believe training should reflect that. That’s why we occasionally use AI voice tools, like ElevenLabs, to develop audio for learning modules, onboarding moments, or scenario dialogue.

For mobile teams, voice-based learning can make content more accessible and less disruptive to the day. And for emotionally charged or tone-sensitive topics, voice allows us to model how something should sound, not just what it should say.

We’re also intentional about voice selection—varying accent, gender, and tone to better reflect the diversity of the workplace and the guests being served.

That said, not everything should be audio. We’re always asking: Will voice enhance this moment? Or just complicate it?

Visuals That Fit the Experience: When AI Images Work (and When They Don’t)

We occasionally use AI to generate visuals—when stock libraries fall short or when we’re trying to create an environment that looks and feels more like our client’s world.

Sometimes, it works beautifully.

Other times, it doesn’t work at all.

AI might generate awkward gestures, off-brand spaces, or visual noise that distracts more than it helps. And when that happens, we don’t force it.

We treat visuals the same way we treat language: if it doesn’t reflect the learner’s reality, it won’t resonate.

Principles That Guide Us: AI in Learning Design

We’ve learned a lot by using AI. Mostly, we’ve learned to be deliberate.

Here are a few principles we follow to keep our use of AI aligned with the values that drive our work:

• Use it to understand, not just to generate: It’s most valuable when used to explore, not to finish.

• Let it surface perspectives: Different angles, different roles, different responses. It’s a tool for widening your lens.

• Don’t let tone slip: In guest-centered environments, tone is everything. AI doesn’t understand nuance unless you train it.

• Let usefulness guide you: Not every AI output needs to be polished. Sometimes it’s just a spark.

• Stay in the driver’s seat: AI doesn’t replace your expertise. It amplifies it, if you stay engaged.

In hospitality and tourism, details matter. Tone matters. Timing matters. And so does how you train your people to show up in those moments.

We use AI as part of that process—not to cut corners, but to help us see more clearly, ask better questions, and design experiences that feel real and purposeful.

Because the most powerful learning doesn’t come from automation. It comes from alignment between your culture, your team, and the way you choose to develop them.

Interested in how AI might fit into your team’s learning strategy?

We’re always happy to share what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how to use these tools with care.