Sector playbook · Education and training

The training provider playbook

How to become a provider ChatGPT names when HR and L&D ask who to use

For founders and managing directors of UK corporate training companies selling leadership, management, sales and professional skills to HR and L&D.

By Ashley Kenerson

Sector lead for education and training at Fortitude Media

Download the playbook (PDF, 8 pages, 1.6 MB)

PDF · 8 pages · 1.6 MB · September 2026 · Free, no form

The cover of The training provider playbook

HR and L&D buyers with tighter budgets now build shortlists with AI assistants, and providers left off never hear the need existed. This playbook shows what assistants check before they name a training provider, and what to fix first.

What is inside

  • The questions HR and L&D buyers ask AI assistants
  • How to build a programme page assistants can use
  • Which accreditations and listings to fix first
  • What the apprenticeship levy pays for in 2026
  • A ten-question scorecard for your company
  • A plan for this month and the next ninety days

Questions your buyers ask

  • Asked an AI assistantWhich leadership development companies in the UK are ILM or CMI approved centres?
  • Asked an AI assistantWhich ILM-accredited leadership programmes can be delivered on-site in the Midlands?
  • Asked an AI assistantSales training provider for a 40-person B2B software team, delivered in-house
  • Asked an AI assistantHow much does in-house sales training cost per day in the UK?

Three of the ten scorecard questions

  1. Do your five most important programme pages state the topic, audience, format, locations, duration and group size in plain text?
  2. Do prices and dates for those programmes appear in plain text, not only inside a booking widget?
  3. Does each programme page list three to six outcomes written as things people can do afterwards?

The full scorecard, a plan for this month and the next ninety days, and the sources assistants check are in the PDF.

Questions founders ask

Should we publish prices for in-house training?

Yes, as ranges. Buyers ask assistants what in-house training costs per day, and a provider that publishes a typical day rate for a stated group size, with what is included, can be quoted. One that says 'contact us' cannot. Rates vary with tailoring, trainer seniority, travel and certification fees, so publish your own and explain what changes the price.

Does CPD accreditation make a difference to AI assistants?

It helps as one signal among several. Buyers often include it in their questions, such as 'CPD-accredited' or 'ILM-accredited', and it gives an assistant an outside record. But CPD accreditation is not statutory and several private bodies offer it, so always name the body. It will not make up for a thin programme page.

We win most work through tenders and frameworks. Does this matter to us?

Yes. Procurement teams and the managers who write specifications research providers before and during a tender, and assistants are part of that research. Clear programme pages, approvals and case studies support your bid when an evaluator checks your claims. They also help you win the direct work that sits outside frameworks.

If we rank well on Google, will ChatGPT name us?

Ranking helps but does not guarantee a mention. Ahrefs found that only 38% of AI Overview citations came from pages in the top ten in March 2026, down from 76% in July 2025, because Google now runs several related searches for one question. Pages that answer follow-up questions, such as cost and proof of return, matter as much as ranking.

Download the playbook (PDF, 8 pages, 1.6 MB)

Read the full guide

Sector guides · 12 min read How does our training company get recommended when HR asks ChatGPT? HR and L&D managers now ask ChatGPT which training providers to shortlist before they ask for a quote. Here is what the assistants check, and how a corporate training firm becomes one of the names.
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Ashley Kenerson
Written by

Ashley Kenerson

Co-founder, Fortitude Media · Data and insight

Ashley spent thirteen years at Digitas, rising from analyst to Head of Data, Analysis and Insights and building a team of nearly fifty across Europe and Asia. At Fortitude she designs the measurement behind every client report and the research we publish.

  • Research and data
  • AI visibility
  • Measurement
  • Reporting
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