Creating online courses with AI

Many companies are under intense time pressure. Content has to be created quickly, updated regularly, and published in multiple languages. At the same time, internal resources for structure, didactics, and text quality are often lacking. This is precisely where AI comes into its own: It generates rough drafts, organizes information, creates variants, and increases speed. This allows teams of authors to focus on fine-tuning, technical accuracy, and didactic design. AI acts as an additional engine that accelerates the production process without compromising quality. This is particularly helpful in industries where knowledge needs to be updated frequently or where multiple target groups need to be trained simultaneously.

AI provides support wherever structure, speed, and repeatability are required. It creates initial content modules, formulates learning objectives, suggests didactic models, and provides structural drafts that author teams can then expand on. Quiz questions can be generated in different variants to create multiple levels of difficulty. Content can be optimized for different target groups, such as sales, production, or administration teams. AI also handles rapid translations and localizations, which significantly speeds up international training. As an added benefit, microlearning formats can be created for mobile use if needed. This results in a scalable, flexible course creation process.

These days, AI supports much more than just rapid text creation in professional authoring tools. It converts PDFs and PowerPoint files into structured learning modules, creates complete content drafts, and formulates appropriate learning objectives. Content can be precisely consolidated, expanded, or optimized, while inline text editing allows changes to be made directly within the module. AI can also generate quiz questions, appropriate answer options, and helpful feedback, which greatly accelerates the didactic design process. Visual content like images and infographics, as well as automatic voiceovers, can also be created in a matter of seconds. Translations, localizations, and microlearning variants ensure international teams receive the same quality training. 

Ensure that sensitive data is protected and that AI functions are embedded into your system landscape in a way that complies with the GDPR. It’s also important to draw a clear line between automated preparatory work and human quality checks to make sure that technical accuracy and company-specific context are maintained. Ultimately, the decisive factor is the combination of a powerful AI and a stable authoring tool that neatly combines didactics, design, and publication. This creates an efficient workflow that generates extra speed without losing depth of content.

Imagine you’re sitting in front of your laptop in the morning with a cup of coffee, knowing exactly what’s on the agenda for today: You’re going to use a complex document produced by your data protection department to create a comprehensive online course. The course has to be understandable, legally accurate, available in five additional languages, adapted to specific countries, contain appropriate images, have voiceovers, and offer a knowledge test at the end. 

Step 1: Clarify the initial situation and refine the assignment
Take a close look at the document from the data protection department. Determine: Who is going to be learning? What exactly should they understand and be able to apply by the end of the training? In which countries will the course be used? Note any sensitive areas in the document that must not be changed under any circumstances.

Step 2: Define the target group and learning objectives
Before you use AI, formulate in simple sentences who you are training, what prior knowledge they have, which roles and positions in the company have different requirements for the online course content, and what the learners should be able to do by the end (learning objectives). In the authoring tool, provide this information to the AI as a prompt. The clearer this prompt is, the better the first draft will be.

Step 3: Use the document as a foundation
Upload the text from the legal department into your authoring tool and instruct the AI to work exclusively with this content. Make it clear that it should not generate new legal statements. Please note: If necessary, instruct the AI to simplify the tone while retaining the content. Provide the AI with instructions on structure and language to tailor the generated content precisely to your requirements. 

Step 4: Generate the initial course outline
The AI creates a structured proposal with modules, lessons, examples, and transitions. Check whether the order is logical and whether all the important topics from the original document are included. Highlight anything that appears legally inaccurate and add any missing aspects directly from the template. Here, too, AI can be helpful, as it is integrated into every element of your course. 

Step 5: Didactically refine and simplify content
Now optimize the texts. For example, ask the AI to translate complex legal terminology into understandable everyday language and to incorporate examples from everyday working life. Ensure that technical terms are explained, not just mentioned. Carry out spot checks to ensure that the AI hasn’t changed the meaning of any regulations.

Step 6: Generate quiz questions, feedback, and knowledge tests
Have suitable quiz questions and feedback texts created based on the learning objectives. Request different question types, such as multiple choice, true/false, and short, open-ended answers. Check carefully that correct and incorrect answers are clearly demarcated and do not contain any ambiguous wording.

Step 7: Create images and voiceovers
Then use AI to generate images or simple visualizations, for example for data flows or typical work situations. For key sections, have it create voiceovers so that learners can choose whether they’d prefer to read or listen. Listen to samples and check whether emphasized portions and technical terms are pronounced correctly.

Step 8: Get an initial expert review
Before moving on to translation, have the data protection department review all the course content. The aim here is to ensure that the content is absolutely correct, complete, and legally sound. Don’t proceed without this approval. Good authoring tools support this process directly within the tool, allowing authors and specialist departments to collaborate directly, and eliminating the need for endless back-and-forth document exchanges. 

Step 9: Create translations and language variants
Once approved, you can generate translations for the required languages. Provide the AI with information on country-specific data protection requirements and have it generate variants that can be validated again later.

Step 10: Quality check and final approval
After translation, a second check is performed: Is the content accurate in every language, have examples been translated correctly, and have country-specific requirements been taken into account?

Step 11: Publish course and schedule updates
Now publish the course and define a process for future changes. If there are new data protection guidelines, you can have the AI specifically update and recheck only the affected sections.

AI may be powerful, but it has clear limitations. It can’t make any didactics-related decisions and doesn’t understand the real business world. Content-based risks, security requirements, compliance, and internal language must all be reviewed by humans. AI can’t detect errors in content and can only imitate complex contexts. That’s why technical approval by experts remains vital. Special caution is required for topics involving legal or regulatory requirements. AI is a valuable co-pilot, but it can’t replace human responsibility. 

When I look back on my first steps with AI, I see many typical pitfalls that almost everyone stumbles over at some point. One of the biggest mistakes is expecting too much at once. At first, I often thought: “I’ll write a prompt and the AI will immediately deliver exactly what I need.” But that’s not how it works. Good results can only be achieved when the target group, learning objectives, and context are clearly defined. 

Another common mistake is adopting technical content without checking it. AI can simplify or rearrange texts, but it doesn’t check for legal or regulatory accuracy. I, too, had to learn that every simplification must be carefully checked against the source. Many users give up too quickly after their first attempts because the AI “didn’t understand what I meant.” That’s exactly what I experienced too. 

I practiced for a long time, constantly readjusting and testing different prompt variations. Over time, you gain a better understanding of AI, get a feel for the right level of precision, and realize how much you can get out of just a few words. Ultimately, it’s a process that’s enjoyable if you get to know AI step by step as a partner and don’t lose heart.