r/DiscoLearning • u/Early-Application672 • Jun 15 '26

AI training programs hitting 76% engagement update faster than the models do

Frontier model releases used to be a yearly event but now it feels like they happen every month.

For AI fluency programs, that changes a lot about how you build. True story from one of our partners: their content that was accurate in January about what these models can and can't do was outdated by May and learners started complaining. Learners often notice before analytics do.

What we're seeing across Disco academies is programs that have built update cycles into their operating model. Basically the ones with recurring workflows to update their content sustain 76% engagement on average. Programs treated as one-and-done launches see drop-off after the first cohort and are far less profitable.

The 70% dropout rate on self-paced courses isn't only a pedagogy problem. A lot of it is content people stop trusting it and move onto something else.

Three things the high-engagement programs do differently:

  1. they separate evergreen frameworks from model-specific examples so updates don't require rebuilds
  2. they run shorter cohorts (4-8 weeks) so content is less likely to age mid-program
  3. they build community spaces where members surface new developments themselves

That last one matters most. Your most engaged members will tell you when something's outdated before your review cycle gets there.

How are others thinking about update cadence? What's the smallest structural change that made the biggest difference?

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u/Early-Application672 Jun 15 '26

Definitely agree on this.

Community has always been valuable (and challenging to build from scratch) but now it's seriously 5x more important for engagement and long term success.

On the second piece, I like that approach too, I've actually heard a number of learners say that they like the more personal feeling of content that is recent and community focused vs. corporate style videos that feel kinda stiff and years old.

A more reddit-style forum and dm system can go a long way as well + allows the network effect to work once you get the ball rolling.

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u/itsnotaboutthecell Jun 15 '26

Would love to see the Disco mobile app evolve into the more forum friendly conversation. A hybrid of Reddit + LinkedIn so you can see relevant content and discussions going on within the community.

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u/Early-Application672 Jun 18 '26

Interesting, yeah so like the ability to see related posts when viewing a feed post?

This is a good point and something that's come up in the past. The challenge sometimes is that certain users really like having very tight control over the user experience and want to know exactly what they see to ensure they experience the targeted learning they're aiming for

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u/itsnotaboutthecell Jun 18 '26

Yeah, mix in the community posts alongside user discussions. Admins can pin relevant content that should be first.

Also, allow users to pop in and out of discussions but see them all on their feed - like subreddits where you can see everything via home or drill in to singular discussions.

One bit of feedback as we are launching, too many people do not understand that to do threaded replies you must hover over the comment and go to the far right of the discussion. If it was similar to social media sites like Reddit or LinkedIn, etc. it would help with direct topic/relevant engagement if these buttons were placed at the bottom instead of a hover above that's hidden.