How to Choose the Right AI LMS in 5 Steps

Education has changed a lot, especially with the rise of eLearning during the pandemic. As schools and workplaces shifted online, new methods of delivering education became necessary.

One of the biggest changes has been the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in learning management systems (LMS). AI has made online learning more personalized, efficient, and engaging for learners.

In this article, we’ll discuss some of the ways AI has transformed learning management systems and help you choose the right AI LMS for your organization.

What’s the Role of AI in LMS?

Learning management systems (LMS) manage, provide, and analyze educational and training content with the help of AI and machine learning. That’s why AI is one of the top trends in eLearning and below, we’ll discuss how it improves LMS exactly.

Quicker Content Creation

AI is a heaven-sent for educators because it speeds up the creation of courses among other things. You can create your first course with AI in just minutes!

AI also summarizes educational content and crafts quizzes or assessments. In simpler words, AI plays a key part in LMS because it streamlines the process by accessing and recommending relevant external resources.

This saves time for educators and ensures learners get as much educational content as possible.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP technology plays a crucial role in creating chatbots and virtual assistants in LMS. These AI-powered bots can answer questions, provide support at any time, and enable communication between educators and learners within LMS.

Customized Learning Experience

Research suggests that personalization can make learners more engaged in the learning process and ensure they get the most relevant and beneficial training content. AI can help with this, which is why most LMS welcomed it with open arms.

AI-powered LMS ensures a custom learning experience for learners by analyzing their data, learning preferences, past achievements, and behavior. This analysis then helps the tool create customized learning paths for each person.

Tailored Content Recommendations

AI algorithms can provide content recommendations based on the learning history, skill gaps, and interests of learners. One example is LinkedIn Learning.

LinkedIn Learning makes content recommendations by evaluating a person’s profile and the skills they’re interested in. This increases the chance that they will enjoy the learning material and proves that AI is also excellent at providing detailed analytics.

More Accurate Assessments

Traditional assessments usually treat all learners the same. In contrast, AI assessments provide more accurate results, as they adapt to each person by changing the difficulty of questions in real time, depending on how well they perform.

Automated Grading

One of the reasons why educators prefer AI-powered LMS is that it saves them time by automatically grading assignments, tests, and quizzes. This also helps learners, as they get instant feedback, enabling continuous improvement.

Automatic grading also helps educators and learners have more meaningful interactions because they’re not caught up in assessing their results manually.

5 Steps on How to Choose the Right AI LMS

Choosing the right AI LMS can make training faster, easier, and more personalized. AI helps create content quickly, automates tasks, and tailors learning to each employee’s needs, which in turn boosts engagement and success.

But you can't choose just any platform—keep reading to learn how to choose the right AI LMS for your organization.

1. What’s Your Actual Goal?

When choosing a learning platform, we suggest starting with clear criteria. Know what you need from a learning management system (LMS) and how it will help you meet your training and business goals.

Start by defining what you want to achieve with your training. Ask yourself, “What’s my main goal?” Then, break this goal into smaller, manageable steps. For instance, if your goal is to cut the time for certifying sales reps, here’s how to make it simpler:

• Teach staff about the product.
• Train on effective sales techniques.
• Test product knowledge after training.
• Evaluate sales skills.

These steps will help you track progress and make adjustments as needed to reach your goal.

Next, you should analyze your learners. When you determine what they need and how they learn best, it will help you choose the right LMS features more easily. Here’s how to do it:

Demographics:

• Different age groups may have different tech skills, affecting how user-friendly the LMS needs to be.
• The content should match the learners' educational backgrounds.
• If your audience is global, the LMS might need to support multiple languages.

Technical skills:

• The LMS should be easy to use based on learners' tech skills to avoid frustration.
• Consider what devices and internet connections your learners will use.

Learning preferences:

• Some learners prefer visual content, while others might like audio or hands-on experiences. Choose an LMS that supports different styles with multimedia options.
• Features like games, certifications, and social tools can keep learners engaged.

2. What Type of LMS and Features Do You Need?

To choose the right AI-powered LMS for your organization, start by clarifying what you need from the system. This will help ensure it matches your goals, learning strategies, and the needs of your audience.

Cloud-based vs. on-premise:

A cloud-based LMS is hosted online and you can easily access it from anywhere. It also requires less IT management.

On the other hand, a traditional on-premise LMS is installed on your servers, giving you more control and customization. The latter is ideal for strict data security needs.

Open-source vs. commercial:

The reason why some organizations opt for open-source learning management systems is that they’re free and customizable. However, they require technical skills to manage.

In contrast, commercial ones aren’t free, but they offer perks like vendor support and a user-friendly interface. That being said, they’re more suitable for businesses that need a ready-made solution.

Industry-specific vs. general:

Industry-specific learning management systems come with features that meet specific training needs, while general ones adapt to various industries and make a great choice for organizations interested in general training.

Speaking of features, here’s a list of key ones you need to consider:

• User-friendly interface: Easy for everyone to use, including admins, instructors, and learners.
• Content management: Upload and manage different types of content easily.
• Content creation: AI tools to create training courses and quizzes.
• User management: Manage profiles, roles, and access.
• Tracking and reporting: Track progress, course completions, and generate reports.
• Mobile accessibility: A design or app for learning on mobile devices.
• Support for eLearning standards: Works with standards like SCORM for compatibility.
• Security features: Strong encryption and privacy protection.
• Technical support: Reliable help for troubleshooting.
• Social learning: Communication tools like forums and messaging.
• Gamification: Research suggests that 95% of employees prefer gamified systems. With that in mind, consider platforms that boost engagement with badges and leaderboards.
• Integration: Make sure the platform connects with HR systems, CRMs, and other tools.
• AI and machine learning: Offers recommendations and personalized learning paths.
• Custom branding: Customizable to match your company’s brand.
• Multilingual support: Make sure the platform is multilingual for global teams. Coursebox supports Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai.
• E-commerce capabilities: Allows selling courses online with payment options.

3. What’s Your Budget?

Unless you choose a free open-source LMS, make sure it fits within your budget and covers everything you need. Some providers have tiered pricing or charge based on the number of users which can be cost-effective for smaller organizations but might get pricey as you grow.

• Per-user pricing: Charges based on the number of users. This is easy to understand and works well if you have a steady number of learners.
• Subscription-based: Charges a regular fee (monthly or yearly) based on the number of users, features, or amount of content.
• Tiered pricing: Offers different packages with various features. Small organizations can start with a basic plan, while larger ones can choose advanced options.
• Pay-per-course or content: You pay only for the courses or content you use. This can save money if you don’t use many courses.
• License fee: A one-time fee for unlimited use of the software, often with annual support or maintenance fees. This is common with on-premise LMS solutions.
• Freemium model: Provides basic features for free, with the option to pay for extra features. Good for testing the system before committing financially.

4. Take Advantage of Demos or Free Trials

Many AI LMS platforms offer demos or free trials, often lasting about 14 days. Use this time to thoroughly test the system and make detailed notes. Here’s how:

• Test core features: Make sure the main functions of the LMS meet your needs.
• Upload materials: Try uploading various types of content like PDFs, multimedia files, and SCORM packages. Coursebox AI can help convert your files into a full-blown course in less than 5 minutes.
• Invite users: Let a few users join the platform and assign them training materials.
• Set up roles: Create different user roles (admin, teacher, learner) to see how the system works from each perspective.
• Customize settings: Adjust settings to match your organization’s structure and processes.
• Build a course: Test the content creation tools by creating a course.
• Check reporting: Use the reporting tools to track user engagement and success.
• Evaluate user experience: Interact with the LMS to see if it is easy to use for both administrators and learners. If you find basic tasks like adding users or navigating the system difficult, consider another option.
• Contact customer support: Test the support by reaching out with specific issues. Evaluate their responsiveness, helpfulness, and overall service quality.

5. Implement Your New AI LMS Properly

A failed LMS implementation doesn’t mean the system won’t launch, but that it fails to meet your needs. Here’s how to do a successful LMS implementation:

• Create a plan: Outline timelines, responsibilities, and key milestones. Keep all stakeholders informed.
• Data migration: If switching from your old system, prioritize data security and accuracy. If starting fresh, data from previous systems isn’t a concern.
• Customize: Adjust the LMS to fit your company’s branding. Choose templates and integrate the LMS with your existing systems.
• Test with a limited audience: Start using the LMS with a small group. Create and use courses to see how it performs.
• Check quality: Test the system’s interface, assessment tools, integrations, and content delivery for any issues.
• Launch and monitor: Once satisfied with the system, roll it out to all users. Continue to monitor the AI LMS and gather feedback for ongoing improvements.

AI is the Future of eLearning!

In a nutshell, the AI-powered learning management system you pick can make or break your training strategy, and hopefully, our guide on picking the right AI-powered LMS can help you make a better decision.

Remember that you can’t go wrong with reputable choices like Coursebox AI because our system is made with educators and learners in mind and is built to grow with your needs. Ready to see it in action? Book a demo with us today!