Skillcast launches Aida to boost confidential AI compliance

Skillcast has launched Aida, an AI-powered digital assistant designed to support compliance training by providing employees with confidential, real-time guidance based on company policies and current regulations.

The introduction of Aida comes at a time when many UK businesses express concern about their readiness for new AI regulations. A recent Skillcast survey of more than 200 business decision-makers revealed that only 2.8% of UK businesses feel "very prepared" to comply with upcoming AI requirements. The survey also showed that 78% of respondents cite data privacy as their primary concern in adopting AI within their organisations, while 52% are worried about the lack of human oversight in AI decision-making.

Aida has been positioned to address these concerns by delivering guidance tailored to each organisation's internal compliance data, as opposed to relying on external or generic information sources. This ensures that answers remain both confidential and aligned with company-specific policies, positioning the tool as a unique offering among AI compliance solutions.

According to the survey, 43% of organisations are now actively exploring AI compliance tools such as Aida, and 29% view AI compliance training as essential. The findings suggest an increasing interest in adapting compliance approaches as regulatory scrutiny intensifies in areas such as data privacy and artificial intelligence.

Aida operates by drawing from a company's own compliance hub, as well as from Skillcast's library of compliance eLearning courses and curated legislative content. The tool delivers personalised and concise training modules targeted at individual employee needs, breaking down compliance training into accessible segments to help improve engagement and knowledge retention.

Vivek Dodd, Chief Executive Officer at Skillcast, said: "Aida represents a major leap forward in how we deliver compliance training. It not only improves knowledge retention but also supports better decision-making in the workplace. A company's compliance is only as resilient as the staff implementing it, and with Aida, we ensure that compliance messages are heard by every employee within an organisation, empowering them to navigate compliance challenges with confidence."

Dodd also explained the company's vision with Aida: "Our goal has always been to make compliance more engaging and effective and Aida is a big step in that direction. It empowers employees to take ownership of their learning journey, ask questions in the moment and get concise, accurate answers from the organisation's own information. This not only makes compliance training more accessible, but also ensures it's relevant and responsive. Compliance shouldn't feel like a chore, and with AI enhancements, it doesn't."

Early feedback from users has highlighted Aida's ease of use, the clarity and speed of its responses, and the practical guidance it offers on complex topics. Some users have noted that the experience feels "more like you're talking to a colleague in HR, rather than completing a box-ticking exercise."

The tool's launch follows a period of intensified regulatory enforcement, with the Financial Conduct Authority imposing significant penalties for compliance failures. Skillcast's approach with Aida aims to address this risk by providing organisations with a system that embeds compliance support into daily workflows, while keeping sensitive information secure within each company.

The survey's results also show that the majority of businesses are seeking solutions to close what Skillcast describes as the AI compliance gap, particularly as regulatory and data privacy concerns grow in prominence.

Aida's method of providing fast, accurate answers and contextual support intends to shift the experience of compliance training from a traditional, sometimes burdensome process to a more interactive and integrated aspect of employees' roles.