Go1 survey of 950 IT, Finance, and Compliance leaders shows cross-functional committees have greater influence over learning technology investments
SAN FRANCISCO, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Go1, the all-in-one workforce enablement solution, today released research showing that confidence in L&D has grown, even as AI adoption, governance requirements and tool sprawl are making learning technology decisions more complex and cross-functional.
L&D has more trust, but less control
The report, The New Buying Committee, surveyed 950 senior leaders across IT, Finance, Procurement, Legal and Compliance. It found that trust in L&D has increased over the past two to three years, with 77% of IT leaders, 64% of Finance leaders and 52% of Legal and Compliance leaders reporting greater confidence in the function.
At the same time, learning technology is no longer viewed as a decision HR can make alone. Only 9% of IT leaders and 17% of Finance leaders believe HR should lead learning technology investments. Instead, cross-functional influence is rising: 88% of IT leaders, 82% of Finance leaders and 83% of Legal and Compliance leaders say they have more influence over these decisions than they did two to three years ago. Collectively, these insights indicate that learning systems are transitioning from isolated departmental tools to essential components of enterprise infrastructure.
AI is a major driver of this shift. As learning platforms become more personalized and AI-powered, buying decisions are increasingly shaped by data governance, security, compliance, integration complexity and cost, not just learning outcomes.
“Learning technology has crossed the line from departmental software to enterprise infrastructure,” said Chris Eigeland, CEO of Go1. “Organizations no longer evaluate these platforms solely through an HR lens. IT, Finance, Legal and Compliance teams now have a stake because learning systems impact data governance, security, compliance and overall business performance.”
Tool sprawl and shadow AI increase complexity
The research also found that fragmented learning ecosystems are creating operational challenges. Nearly four in five Finance leaders (79%) report duplicate or overlapping tools, highlighting growing concerns around technology spend and operational complexity, while 69% believe consolidation would add value and 51% are actively consolidating.
Moreover, over half of Finance, IT, and Legal respondents say AI-powered learning tools now undergo enterprise AI governance reviews. But 80% of IT leaders, 66% of Finance leaders and 70% of Legal and Compliance leaders have encountered AI or learning tools deployed without their review in the past 12 months.
