HowNow unveils Guru AI to personalise workplace learning

HowNow has announced the launch of HowNow Guru, an AI learning agent designed to address skills gaps and provide real-time coaching at scale for organisations.

The new tool is positioned to move beyond traditional learning methods by offering personalised and adaptive teaching experiences. Acting as a constant coach, Guru interprets the learner's abilities and specific requirements, delivering feedback and support according to their progress, practice habits, and their business environment.

Employees engaging with Guru can participate in AI-generated role-plays simulating real-world scenarios, undertake knowledge checks and quizzes tailored to their proficiency levels, explore advanced concepts through relevant insights, and track their advancement via continuous skill reviews. The AI adapts to each interaction, accounting for what the learner has mastered and what areas require further attention, facilitating an ongoing, customised learning journey.

HowNow Guru is integrated within the existing HowNow platform, enabling it to access organisational content, user learning history, and real-time performance data. This integration aims to deliver support in a timely and relevant manner, without creating additional administrative work or complexity for learning and development teams.

Nelson Sivalingam, Co-Founder and Chief Executive at HowNow, said: "In Guru, we've essentially created a world-class teacher that not only knows everything the organisation knows, but which is also equipped with the frameworks it needs to coach people in the best way possible. It can teach, challenge, quiz, provide feedback and guidance – and because Guru is embedded directly into the HowNow platform, it also understands the learner's unique aptitude and ability, which informs highly bespoke learning and effective behaviour change."

Sivalingam further commented: "Guru is built from the ground up as an AI learning agent – it's interactive, personalised, and deeply connected to the organisation. It gives every employee the opportunity to practise, improve, and grow, without waiting on a course or coach."

Users of Guru can choose to power the agent with their own proprietary learning materials or connect it with external content providers, such as Assemble You and getAbstract. This approach enables Guru to supplement coaching with vetted knowledge from trusted sources.

getAbstract, described as the world's largest library of verified expert knowledge, supplies insights to Guru from a broad pool of thought leaders. These insights are incorporated into coaching conversations, translating abstract concepts into practical, actionable advice.

Thomas Bergen, Co-Founder and Chief Executive at getAbstract, addressed the partnership, saying: "The quality of AI agents depends profoundly on the quality of the underlying knowledge base. With getAbstract as its verified expert knowledge partner HowNow has chosen the best database for AI coaches in the market."

HowNow's increased investment in AI-driven learning technology reflects current trends in the learning and development (L&D) sector. The 2025 Global Sentiment Survey (GSS) for L&D reported that artificial intelligence continues to be a key area of interest, holding the top spot for the third consecutive year with 22.6% of respondents identifying AI as the most impactful trend, an increase from 21.5% the previous year.

The GSS, conducted annually, gathered responses from 3,339 participants across 93 countries for its 2025 edition. Respondents are invited to indicate the most promising opportunities for L&D in the coming year, choosing from a range of options.

Donald H. Taylor, Lead Researcher for the L&D Global Sentiment Survey 2025 and Chair of Learning Technologies UK, commented on the survey's findings: "AI's ascendancy began in the 2023 survey, following the launch of ChatGPT, and is bucking the normal trend for votes to decline over time as options become less 'hot'. L&D's high interest in AI is indicative of the opportunities it presents to employees and the organisation – and innovative AI coaches are creating new and faster routes to effective upskilling at scale."

HowNow Guru is expected to offer organisations an approach to learning that responds to the ongoing demand for tailored and scalable skill development using AI technologies.