Udemy launches AI-powered Role Play to transform soft skills training for professionals and businesses

Udemy, a platform focused on reskilling professionals through technology, has introduced Role Play, an AI-powered tool designed to help individuals develop essential soft skills.

Through interactive simulations, learners can engage in realistic business scenarios to practise communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.This new offering aims to provide learners with a more accessible way to improve their workplace capabilities. By combining expert-designed content with adaptive AI coaching, Role Play offers an opportunity for learners to build skills in a flexible, personalised manner.AI simulations to support soft skills developmentThe Role Play tool offers a variety of simulated scenarios that cover key workplace situations, such as interviews, giving feedback, managing conflicts, negotiating, coaching, and setting goals. The AI provides real-time coaching and feedback, which is designed to support learners in refining their soft skills more effectively than traditional methods.The platform empowers organizations to create custom simulations tailored to their specific business needs, while Udemy creators have already published over 2,000 Role Plays in just two weeks—demonstrating a rapidly growing content ecosystem.

According to Eren Bali, Udemy’s chief technology officer and founder, "Role Play is a great example of the power of bringing together human expertise and AI. This tool will transform how essential skills are taught and learned.

"Addressing the soft skills gap in today’s workplaceRecent studies highlighted by Udemy show a significant gap in the communication of leadership strategies within organisations. While 83% of senior leaders believe effective leadership is crucial for success, only 28% of employees feel that their leaders are effectively communicating these shifts.

Role Play offers a potential solution by allowing learners to practise real-world scenarios and develop greater confidence in their communication and leadership abilities.For organisations, Role Play can be a scalable solution for addressing soft skills gaps and enhancing collaboration. For individual professionals, it presents an accessible tool for developing skills that are increasingly valuable in today’s workplace.Adapting to evolving learning needsRole Play is one of the early initiatives from Udemy’s Innovation Studio, which aims to explore new ways of delivering and personalising learning experiences. The tool is built with flexibility in mind, offering instructors the ability to incorporate hands-on practice into their courses. It also allows for the use of six different AI characters, developed in partnership with ElevenLabs, which can be customised to suit various scenarios.Frank Kane, a top-rated Udemy instructor, shared his thoughts on the tool’s potential: "I’ve created three Role Play exercises already, and I can see the benefits for learners. The real-time feedback is valuable, helping students apply what they’ve learned in a practical context."