In-Person vs Online AI Training: What’s Best for Your Team?

AI tools are increasingly embedded in everyday work across roles. But simply giving teams access to AI doesn’t guarantee they’ll use it well – the real step is effective training. Choosing between in-person and online AI training workshops for businesses can make a significant difference to adoption, engagement and long-term usefulness.

Below is a comparison of both formats, grounded in research and industry insights, and a recommendation for when each works best.

Why Format Matters

How AI training workshops are delivered – in a physical room or online – affects more than convenience. It influences how people engage, collaborate, retain skills, and apply what they learn1.

Getting the format right helps ensure AI tools aren’t just another checkbox, but become useful working practices for your team.

In-Person Training: When Real-Life Interaction Matters

Strengths of In-Person Training

     

      • Higher engagement, better retention – Face-to-face training often leads to stronger engagement, better comprehension and improved retention of skills compared to remote-only learning.2

      • Immediate feedback & hands-on learning – For complex workflows, role-based tasks, or collaborative work (all common in business AI use), in-person sessions allow real-time feedback, live demonstrations and group problem-solving, which are hard to replicate online.3

      • Team collaboration & social learning – Training together helps build shared language, confidence and momentum across the team. For many people, this social context helps embed new practices more effectively.4

    When It Might Be Less Practical

       

        • Cost and logistics – In-person sessions usually involve travel, scheduling, possible venue or equipment costs: time and money that not all organisations can easily spare.

        • One-off risks – If training is only a single session, there’s the risk of “information overload” or poor long-term uptake – especially if follow-up, reinforcement or real-world practice isn’t supported.

      In short: in-person works best when you want strong engagement, hands-on learning, team cohesion and skills that go beyond the theoretical.

      Online Training Workshops: Flexibility, Scale and Cost-Efficiency

      What Online Training Does Well

         

          • Flexibility & accessibility – Online training allows participants to learn from anywhere, at times that fit their schedule. This is ideal for hybrid or distributed teams, or when business operations can’t pause for a full in-person day.5

          • Cost-effective and scalable – Without travel, venues, printed materials or large instructor overheads, online training (especially e-learning) dramatically reduces costs. It’s especially valuable for organisations training many people, or rolling out repeat sessions.

          • Efficient time use & reusability – Online modules can often be completed in shorter segments, reducing downtime. Once built, they can be reused for new hires or refreshers, improving long-term return on investment.

        Where Online Can Fall Short

           

            • Lower engagement or accountability for some learners – Some people struggle with self-discipline, or miss the focus and interaction that comes from being in a live group.6

            • Less effective for hands-on or collaborative skills – When training requires complex workflows, group problem-solving, live feedback or real-time collaboration, online-only may struggle to deliver the same impact as in-person.

          Online training works best when flexibility, scale, repetition or cost constraints are the priority – or when the skills being taught don’t require a high level of interactivity or hands-on practice.

          The Strong Case for a Blended Approach

          Recent research and industry practice show growing support for a blended model: start with in-person training to build momentum, engagement and shared understanding, then follow up with online modules for ongoing learning, refreshers or onboarding new team members.7

          This hybrid method often delivers the best balance:

             

              • Strong initial buy-in and confidence (from in-person)

              • Flexibility, scalability and lower long-term cost (from online)

              • Reinforcement of learning over time

            For AI adoption in a business context – where new tools, workflows and even mindset shifts are involved – this combination tends to yield better results than either approach alone.

            What Works Best Depends on Your Team & Goals

            Here’s a simplified guide for when to lean on each format, or both:

            Situation / Goal Recommended Training Format
            Team co-located, needs hands-on learning, collaboration, shared adoption In-Person / Blended
            Remote/hybrid team, distributed staff, need flexibility & scalability Online or Blended
            Want to train many people, including future hires, with minimal cost Online / Blended
            Need quick upskilling, tool adoption, refreshers or repeatable training Online / Blended
            Need strong team engagement, change management, culture shift In-Person / Blended

            Conclusion

            There’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to whether in-person or online training is better – it depends on what your organisation needs.

               

                • In-person training delivers stronger engagement, better retention and works well for hands-on, collaborative or workflow-intensive training.

                • Online training offers flexibility, scalability and cost efficiency – perfect for remote or hybrid teams, repeatable sessions, or ongoing learning.

                • For most businesses, a blended approach delivers the best balance: engagement and impact from live sessions, plus flexibility and sustainability through digital delivery.4

              If you are interested in an AI training workshop for your business – whether it is AI Training in Melbourne or online AI Training – get in touch with us here at The AI Activators.

              References

                  1. Data Society. “Why In-Person Training Outperforms Online Methods in Corporate Learning.” Data Society, 10 Apr. 2025. https://datasociety.com/why-in-person-training-outperforms-online-methods-in-corporate-learning/

                  1. Siddiqui, A. A. “Students’ Perception of Online Versus Face-to-Face Learning.” PMC, 2024. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10948083/ 

                  1. iTacit. “Comparing In-Person Training vs. Online Training: The Pros and Cons of Each.” iTacit, 29 Jan. 2025. https://itacit.com/blog/in-person-training-vs-online-training-the-pros-and-cons-of-each/

                  1. Whyy? Change. “The benefits of face-to-face training vs. online courses.” Whyy? Change, 30 Apr. 2025. https://www.whyychange.com/the-benefits-of-face-to-face-training-vs-online-courses/

                  1. Connecteam. “Online Learning vs. Face-to-Face Learning: Which Is Best?” Connecteam, 11 Jul. 2023. https://connecteam.com/e-face-to-face-vs-online-learning/

                  1. Cranfield School of Management. “Can online study be as effective as face-to-face learning?” Cranfield School of Management Blog, n.d. https://blog.som.cranfield.ac.uk/execdev/online-vs-face-to-face

                  1. Kelsey Harris. “Beyond Virtual vs. In-Person: What New Research Tells Us About Blending Sales Training Modalities.” ATD Blog https://www.td.org/content/atd-blog/beyond-virtual-vs-in-person-what-new-research-tells-us-about-blending-sales-training-modalities

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