Udemy Launches AI-Powered Role Play to Coach Professionals on Business and Communication Skills

AI-powered simulations help build soft skills mastery through real-time coaching on key scenarios like interviews, communication, conflict resolution, and feedback delivery

First AI-powered solution enabling organizations and creators to rapidly deliver and personalize interactive learning with AI

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Udemy (Nasdaq: UDMY), a leading AI-powered reskilling platform, today announced the launch of Role Play, a new AI-powered offering that helps learners develop real-world soft skills through immersive, instructor-designed conversation simulations. Role Play also enables organizations to design custom scenarios based on their specific business challenges, delivering personalized and contextual learning at scale. By blending expert-created content with adaptive coaching technology and personalization at the enterprise level, Role Play gives learners a realistic environment to practice and master critical workplace communication skills.

Unlike traditional publisher models that rely on lengthy production cycles, Udemy's marketplace approach proves a flexible framework that allows for continuous content innovation in real time at scale. In just four weeks, Udemy creators have published more than 3,100 Role Plays, reflecting a vibrant ecosystem of contributors and reinforcing Udemy’s position as an AI-powered platform for rapid skill development.

Role Play builds on the momentum of Udemy’s recently launched Innovation Studio, a dedicated initiative designed to accelerate experimentation and breakthroughs in how learning experiences are created, delivered, and personalized. As one of the first major outputs of the Studio, Role Play exemplifies the kind of forward-thinking, AI-driven innovation the Studio was built to unlock. It reflects a shift toward more interactive, immersive, and skill-focused learning design, where learners actively practice real-world scenarios, not just passively consume content.

“At Udemy, we understand that the most effective way to master soft skills is through practice and feedback,” said Eren Bali, Chief Technology Officer and founder at Udemy. “Role Play is a great example of the power of bringing together human expertise (through Udemy creators) and AI. Role Play will transform how essential skills are taught and learned, providing an immersive experience that prepares learners for real-world challenges and drives measurable business impact.”

Udemy learners can practice a variety of workplace-related conversations – such as pitching new business ideas, negotiating agreements, resolving conflicts, providing feedback, coaching, goal setting, delegating tasks, managing projects, and preparing for interviews. Through the customizable interface, they can receive immediate feedback that accelerates skills development and drives both personal career advancement and organizational success. Role Play is designed for:

• Organizations closing skills gaps: Role Play enables teams to create customized scenarios that mirror real workplace challenges, giving employees a safe environment to practice communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills. These immersive experiences strengthen collaboration and build stronger professional relationships across teams. Developing these kinds of human skills is more critical than ever as recent research shows that capabilities like critical thinking, adaptability, and analytical reasoning are not only essential to individual success, but also to the effective adoption of emerging technologies like AI.
• Professionals seeking career advancement: Role Play offers an opportunity to develop and refine communication and leadership skills that are increasingly valued in today’s workplace. Udemy’s analysis reveals 83% of senior leaders identify effective leadership as essential for skills-based transformation, yet only 28% of employees believe their leaders are effectively communicating this strategic shift, highlighting a significant barrier to organizational change. By practicing in a risk-free environment with AI coaching, learners and leaders can build their confidence before applying these skills in real-world scenarios.
• Creators and instructors aiming to bring soft skills to life: Role Play offers an intuitive way to add immersive, hands-on practice directly into Udemy courses. Built with flexibility in mind, Role Play makes it easy to design interactive, AI-powered learning experiences that boost engagement and deepen learner outcomes. Through a partnership with AI leaders ElevenLabs, instructors can choose from six distinct AI characters and customize their voices to reflect a range of tones and accents, creating more authentic, relatable scenarios that mirror real-world conversations.

“I’ve created three Role Play exercises already, and I have to say – this borders on magic!” said Frank Kane, a top-rated Udemy tech instructor. “Learners are now able to practice what they learn through real-time conversations, receiving immediate feedback that reinforces the core concepts within my courses. This offers a whole new level of engagement, and learners can apply what they’ve learned immediately in their workplaces.”

Udemy will continue to showcase new technology through the Innovation Studio, bringing the power of AI and human connection to reskilling at scale.

To learn more about Role Play and Udemy’s AI reskilling platform, visit business.udemy.com/ai.

About Udemy

Udemy (Nasdaq: UDMY) is an AI-driven skills development platform transforming how companies and individuals across the world build the capabilities needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving workplace. By combining on-demand, multi-language content with real-time innovation, Udemy delivers personalized experiences that empower organizations to scale workforce development and help individuals build the technical, business, and soft skills most relevant to their careers. Today, thousands of companies, including Ericsson, Glassdoor, On24, The World Bank, and Volkswagen, rely on Udemy Business for its enterprise solutions to build agile, future-ready teams. Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco, with hubs across the United States, Australia, India, Ireland, India, Mexico and Türkiye.