When AI came exploding into our lives in late 2022, with the public introduction of ChatGPT, it was a destructive force that brought fear, uncertainty and doubt – but also possibility. Headlines circulated rapidly, predicting exactly how many jobs this new technology would make redundant. Microsoft founder Bill Gates stated that AI was the most important technology advancement in more than 40 years. 

In the higher education industry, the question on everyone’s mind was: Would it replace learning entirely?  

There soon became a divide. Business schools initially reacted to AI in two ways: some, seeing the technology as an exciting opportunity, started to actively integrate AI into the curriculum, testing out new ways of teaching, and even launching specific programmes and courses focused on AI. Others decided not to use it at all and instead on continuing with traditional ways of teaching. 

Now, though, in 2025, AI is unavoidable. Particularly in higher education.  

A 2025 Higher Education Policy Institute study found that 92 percent of UK graduates now use AI (up from 66% in 2024), with 88 percent using GenAI for assessments (up from 53% in 2024). While students primarily use AI to explain concepts, summarise articles, and generate research ideas, nearly a fifth have directly included AI-generated text in their work -reinforcing concerns among many faculty about academic integrity and potential negative impacts of AI on learning. 

In contrast, AACSB’s GenAI Adoption in Business Schools report found that while 64 percent of faculty have used GenAI in teaching, it remains a supplementary tool rather than a core part of most faculty workflows. This is hardly surprising, when only 12 percent of schools mandate AI training for faculty, despite clear demand for hands-on applications, ethical guidelines, and customised support.  

Starting from scratch  

NEOMA Business School in France established a clear AI strategy very early on in 2023, allowing students to use generative AI tools while focusing on training their entire community. “We realised it’s not just a trend, but a major shift, affecting both education and the future workplace,” said Alain Goudey, Associate Dean for Digital at NEOMA Business School, speaking at the AACSB ICAM Conference in Vienna this year. 

This was a huge endeavour, as OpenAI had announced ChatGPT just three months before. “When we teaching AI in early 2023, there was absolutely no content about generative AI for higher education. Nothing at all. So we needed to create everything from scratch,” said Dr Goudey. 

Their policy is simple. The use of AI is not only accepted, but encouraged, so long as students are honest about where they’ve used it. “We ask students and faculty to be fully transparent. If they are using AI, they have to cite the use. That’s a matter of intellectual and academic integrity,” he said. 

The rise of human skills 

As AI starts to automate routine tasks, the demand for human creativity, leadership and complex problem solving is rising – 83 percent of leaders agree that the growing use of AI will make human skills more vital, according to AACSB data. “While some argue that AI is already encroaching on these areas, the true human advantage lies in the ability to collaborate effectively with the technology,” writes AACSB in its State of Business Education Report. 

The survey concluded that business schools must adapt to prepare leaders for an AI-driven world, emphasising skills like digital literacy, ethical decision-making in technology deployment, and leveraging data for strategic innovation.  

This was a sentiment echoed by Dr Scott Dawson, Dean of The University of Colorado Denver Business School, at ICAM, who said that the school’s approach to education prepares students to adapt rather than training them for specific roles that might become outdated. Dr Dawson discussed how his institution focuses on “opening doors and lowering barriers to success” for the school’s diverse student body.  

Creativity in programme design 

Embedding AI into the curriculum in a way that will genuinely prepare leaders for the future demands that business schools be creative. Schools are approaching the use of technology in the curriculum from different perspectives.  

The Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in the US, for example, has developed a platform that includes various Large Language Models (LLMs) and custom bots for specific educational needs. 

“Traditional assessment methods are being challenged. We need to move beyond the standard metrics and embrace more holistic evaluation approaches that account for the complexity of today’s business environment.”

– Lily Bi, President and CEO of AACSB International

Paulo Goes, Dean of the Freeman School of Business says that these custom bots can simulate different personas, like CEOs, to be used in case studies, as well as take on different behavioural attributes in negotiation classes. The university is supporting this initiative with the business school serving as a trial for the entire university. 

At the UK’s University of Oxford, Saïd Business School is exploring working with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies.  

Speaking at AACSB’s ICAM, Dr Kathy Harvey, Dean of Oxford Saïd Business School said, “We’re working with a VR company, started by one of our students, and it’s essentially teaching students soft skills, or ‘human skills’ as we call them. They have 31 different human skills which they’re teaching through VR, and we’re now using the technology in our career services, our executive education, and in one of our MBA classes.”  

Tech-centred specialisations  

The rapid growth of AI brought with it a desire to understand an array of new tools. Business schools quickly responded to this demand with tech-centred specialisation programmes.  

One example of this is  HEC Paris’ three-month deep tech and AI MBA specialisation designed for individuals who aim to lead innovation and drive business transformation through disruptive technologies. It combines academic insights with practical corporate projects, focusing on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and next-generation computing. ​ 

Similarly, Hult International Business School has made notable advancements in AI over the past year, including the integration of AI and sustainability topics across its programmes, such as the introduction of the ‘AI and the Future of Work’ course for all graduate students. This includes an AI Business Challenge based on a real company challenge.  

Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania will soon be launching a new MBA major and undergraduate concentration in Artificial Intelligence. The curriculum combines technical training with courses on ethics and social implications, ensuring graduates are well-versed in AI’s multifaceted impact on business. 

New ways to assess and learn 

Another problem that has been widely discussed in higher education is how to practically assess students while encouraging the use of AI, but discouraging cheating.  

“Traditional assessment methods are being challenged. We need to move beyond the standard metrics and embrace more holistic evaluation approaches that account for the complexity of today’s business environment,” said Lily Bi, President and CEO of AACSB International, during her presentation on the future of business education at ICAM. 

Traditional written assignments are particularly vulnerable to AI tools that can generate perfect essays, making it difficult to assess genuine student learning. 

“We need to fundamentally rethink what we’re assessing and how we’re assessing it in this new environment,” explains Dr Goudey. “I believe that we are entering a very interesting period concerning unlearning and relearning, and we are all concerned by this.”  

Queen Mary University of London, for example, have created a coursework-based assessment in its ‘Strategic Analysis and Practice’ module, in which students engage in a business simulation co-creating strategies with AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.  The AI isn’t just a tool. Students must critically engage with it, justify its use, and demonstrate decision-making skills shaped by their interaction with it. This hands-on approach enhances AI literacy, decision-making, and critical thinking skills. 

Could tech industry leaders help to teach AI? 

Perhaps technology companies and online platforms could also play a role in  training students. According to the Coursera 2025 Job Skills report, tech industry leaders like Google, IBM, and Amazon Web Services are becoming key players in AI education. This is particularly relevant as companies increasingly look to microcredentials, experiential learning, and real-world problem-solving as essential complements to traditional degrees. These companies are helping to drive skill development through specialised courses, offering rapid, applied learning for fast-changing technologies.  

POLIMI Graduate School of Management has been using ‘FLEXA’ for several years now – an AI-infused digital tool developed in partnership with Microsoft. FLEXA is a platform that allows participants to decide where and how to access their personalised learning path from anywhere in the world and with any device.  

Starting with an assessment phase which evaluates where individuals need to improve their skills, FLEXA then uses artificial intelligence to create and suggest personalised training courses for each user. Participants then have access to an ecosystem of about 800,000 pieces of learning material, including self-paced digital courses, webinars, podcasts, articles and case studies. 

Schools, too, are creating their own digital platforms. In 2023, NEOMA launched a series of new ‘iLearning’ courses designed around this concept. The courses are for remote learners and are structured like a television series. The student is cast in a specific role, such as the Chief Digital Officer at a firm, and gains knowledge through making decisions, completing tasks, and offering analysis or recommendations depending on where their story takes them. 

The chief benefit of this approach is that the student cannot be passive; they must interact with the course materials to progress. This is especially important in the context of remote learning, where business schools must be mindful that they are competing with a host of distractions to keep each student’s attention fixed on their learning. 

Investing in AI: Is it worth it?

The costs of AI integration can be high, including faculty training, software subscriptions, and infrastructure investments.  

But it seems business schools are now ready to make this investment. AACSB shares in its survey that 37 percent of schools surveyed said they were allocating financial resources to AI or Generative AI initiatives, signalling a clear investment in advancing artificial intelligence capabilities.  

By rethinking curricula, updating learning goals, and making sure graduates are ready for long, evolving careers shaped by AI, schools are showing that business education isn’t just about landing that first job – it’s about staying relevant for whatever comes next. 

By, Chloë Lane

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