This is the time of the year when the deadlines are getting tighter, and people are wondering if they will have to try that new dish from Tommy, a recent hire who told you secretly that he worked at a place that was shut down due to health concerns. Oh, and he was the cook.

Writing two posts about awards, while exciting, is equally daunting. No analyst goes into this thinking Hey, I can write this up in an hour and then head over to the pharmacy because Tommy happens to be your boss and he is making his famous hot dog soufflé.

The best in class awards are broken down into two areas – this week, it’s all AI.

Next week – Best in Class covering the aspect of strategic outcomes for the business – with frontline, enterprise, mid-market, mentoring ,etc.

AI Factoids

We often say that AI is still in its infancy, but it’s important to note that the current capabilities are just the beginning, with significant growth expected within a year or two.

One AI vendor whose valuation is over 1 trillion dollars may not be around a year from now, because it is a capital-heavy investment with so far a lack of return.

The AI market is in a bubble (and as I’ve written before, there is no doubt it will go the dot.com route, sadly). Recognizing this volatility can help you stay cautious and make more informed decisions.

When a vendor in our space, including learning systems, adds AI, they should carefully consider how it aligns with their core mission and expertise – (Impact of Learning), in this case, strategic outcomes for the business (regardless of vertical).

Add it – just for the sake of it, and place it where clients want it (BAD idea, but common) or add it, be diligent about where it should go based upon the vendor’s expertise (not common, but the smart move).

The Categories under AI for Best in Class are

• Top 5 AI-focused learning systems
• AI Content Creator
• Analytics and Metrics – 100%: There are some folks out there who do it way better than others and show what is possible at this stage in the space.
• Admin Functionality – These vendors are leveraging an AI assistant on the admin side – very early here – but still stand out
• #1 AI-Powered Learning System (yes, one stands above the rest – and includes it all – uh, AI capabilities when you buy the system)
• AI Assistant – Learner Side – This is gaining popularity, but some are the early leaders, and two I see do the best job, sadly, only one can be Best in Class (or can it be two?)

Regarding AI, please note that you should always ask what LLM (Language Model) or models they are using, and whether they charge token fees. As of 12-10-25, the number one LLM is Gemini 3 (Pro).

If a vendor says they use Bedrock (that is great – because Bedrock identifies the best LLM or the one it feels aligns well with your use case – Bedrock is from Amazon, which is AWS in this regard).

Now, without further ado