New AI-powered capabilities are exposing a hard truth: Most enterprises are overspending on learning content that delivers diminishing returns. But there is a better way.
Learning budgets are often bogged down by overlapping libraries, under-used subscriptions, and content that no longer aligns to today’s skills needs. The result is high-cost, low-signal skill development, and growing frustration from learners and leaders alike.
At the same time, expectations are rising. HR and L&D teams are using limited budgets to support AI transformation with fewer resources than before. This pressure leads to a growing search for savings. One easy place to find these is in learning content.
The Content Cost Problem for Corporate Learning
The current, endless sprawl of learning content didn’t happen overnight. Over years and years, organizations layered new content providers on top of old ones to support new roles, skills, and initiatives. As the workforce and ways of working changed, so did the content needs. The result today is a fragmented ecosystem where:
- Multiple libraries cover the same foundational topics.
- Learners face choice overload (and often disengage as a result).
- L&D teams spend time managing vendors instead of building capability.
- Finance questions the ROI of recurring content subscriptions.
According to Degreed’s analytics, many leading content providers had 55% or higher overlap with Degreed Open Library content, which is included for all Degreed customers. This means that Degreed customers who are also relying on external content vendors are paying multiple times for similar content.
This overlap isn’t a content quality issue. It’s a strategy issue.
A 3-Step Approach to Content Optimization
Degreed helps organizations move from a state of content over-accumulation to streamlined capability-building through a simple, proven, three-step model.
Step 1: Assess Content Libraries for Cost-Savings
The first step is understanding what content you already have available in your libraries across various platforms and where redundancy exists.
Using semantic matching, Degreed’s auditing tool evaluates overlap between existing providers and Degreed Open Library to identify where foundational content needs can be met by Open Library (already included with Degreed Learning). . Many Degreed clients have discovered that their most-used content is already covered by Open Library. Identifying and eliminating redundancies can lead to significant cost savings.
This creates an immediate opportunity to rationalize vendors and redirect budget.
Step 2: Enable Degreed Open Library
Degreed customers have access to quality learning pathways on the most in-demand skills in the market, simply by enabling Degreed Open Library. Our most widely used pathways include: AI Readiness, Data Analytics, and SQL.
Open Library includes:
- 500+ ready-to-deploy learning pathways across today’s most in-demand skills
- Pathways curated by AI agents trained to identify high-quality learning resources
- Expert review to ensure accuracy, relevance, and bias mitigation
- Continuous updates as skills and priorities evolve
Open Library allows organizations to replace or reduce foundational learning content from external subscriptions. At the same time, there is an analysis to be done around different types or registers of content. There is a place in any library for top tier catalogs, as well as those that are specialized by role or industry and meet a specific need. But it’s likely there is also a lot of mediocre or unnecessary content in place that is no longer needed.
For many enterprises, this approach alone can unlock seven-figure savings. Enterprises using Degreed Open Library are already realizing meaningful business and cost-savings results:
- A Fortune 100 company reduced content provider spend by more than $1M annually.
- A global energy company off-boarded two premium providers and saved approximately $1M in a single year.
- A U.S. research and manufacturing organization expanded access to critical business skills while reducing L&D workload and increasing learner trust and adoption.
Savings can be achieved not only by eliminating duplicative, off-the-shelf content, but also by cost reduction on custom engagements that may no longer be necessary, like services, programs, and reimbursements. Customers who created these outcomes didn’t do so by cutting learning. Instead, they did it by spending smarter.
Step 3: Customize with AI Pathway Curation Services
Foundational coverage is essential, but it’s rarely enough to transform a workforce by itself. By working with our in-house experts, Degreed’s services team can curate and deliver content to extend Open Library with pathways based on:
- Specific roles and job functions
- Industry and regulatory needs
- Strategic initiatives like AI adoption or digital transformation
AI rapidly assembles pathways at scale, while Degreed’s instructional design experts refine them for quality, accuracy, and cultural fit. The result is AI speed with human precision, but without the cost or delay of traditional custom content development. This approach can take content development time from months or weeks to days.
Degreed Open Library vs. AI Content Curation Services: How They Work Together
Degreed Open Library and our in-house AI Curation services work hand-in-hand to help organizations through this three-step process to achieve more strategic spending.
- Open Library delivers immediate, broad, and always-on learning coverage with immediate cost saving opportunities.
- AI Learning Content Curation Services build on that foundation and create bespoke pathways aligned to business strategy, so you can deliver learning on the topics that are most important to your business.
Together, they help organizations reduce spend while accelerating time to capability and performance.
From Content Spending to Capability Investment
The future of learning isn’t about buying more content. It’s about curating the right pathways, aligning learning to real skills and business needs, and using AI to scale what works.
Degreed Open Library and AI Pathway Curation Services give HR and L&D leaders a way to reduce redundant content spend and streamline the learning experience. This process allows you the tools and programs you need to build adaptable, AI-ready workforces, all without sacrificing quality or impact. If you’re being asked to do more with less, optimizing your learning content spend is a great place to start.
Let’s keep in touch.
Sign me up for the monthly newsletter with exclusive insights, upcoming events, and updates on Degreed solutions.