Internship at Abilitie: Exploring AI-Powered Leadership Training

This summer, I interned with Abilitie, a leadership development company based in Austin that creates multiplayer business simulations for companies like GE, Coca-Cola, and Deloitte. My role focused on researching how AI is reshaping leadership training, and contributing to Abilitie’s own AI-powered simulation tools.

The internship kicked off with a unique opportunity: Assisting the CEO at SHRM 2025 in San Diego, the world’s largest human resources conference.

Week 1: SHRM 2025 in San Diego — Exploring the Future of AI + Learning

With over 2000 booths and tens of thousands of attendees, SHRM was overwhelming in the best way. I built a strategic plan in advance to focus on vendors that use AI in leadership development. Three stood out:

Neuroscale AI

Their tool “Arbi” analyzes resumes, video responses, and interviews using AI. I saw direct application to Abilitie’s simulations — imagine being able to give feedback on communication and decision-making in real time.

NCLab

This platform builds adaptive learning paths based on learner performance. It inspired ideas for how Abilitie simulations could dynamically shift scenarios depending on how participants perform.

KnowBe4 (My Favorite)

This company uses AI to simulate phishing attacks and adapts training based on mistakes users make. Their model even sends follow-up challenges after the training ends — a compelling example of reinforced learning. This approach could enhance how Abilitie handles repeat learner behavior.

Takeaway: AI can make leadership training more adaptive, personalized, and data-driven — and I saw dozens of ways that could apply to Abilitie’s product roadmap.

Week 2: Back in Austin — Training the AI

After returning to Abilitie HQ, I got to see the real product side of things:

• I met with the Chief Product Officer to share my SHRM insights and learn how product development works at a high level

• I helped train the company’s AI agent, which is being built to make simulations more interactive and conversational

• I played through two of Abilitie’s core simulations:

  • Business Challenge (focus: pricing, investing, strategy)

  • Management Challenge (focus: team leadership, coaching, productivity)

In both cases, I saw how adding an AI agent could give learners more instant feedback, coaching, and personalized guidance, and even simulate unexpected real-world dynamics like market volatility or team disengagement.

Final Presentation to the CEO

To close out the internship, I presented my findings and product suggestions to Abilitie’s CEO. We discussed how AI could not only improve the simulation experience but also help scale leadership development to reach more people in more industries.

What I Learned

This internship gave me a unique blend of:

• Industry research at one of the biggest conferences in the world

• Product exposure inside a fast-moving EdTech company

• Hands-on AI work training a real-world model

• A stronger understanding of how learning design meets machine learning

More than anything, it taught me that AI can be more than just automation — it can make leadership training more human, by delivering the right feedback, at the right time, in the right tone.

Want to see my other summer experiences? Check out:

• My Research on AI for Guide Dogs

• My Summer at the UPenn ESAP AI Program