Everywhere you look, AI is changing the conversation. From the headlines in tech to hallway chats at conferences, the question isn’t if AI will reshape our work — it’s how. At Ellevation, we’re not just watching from the sidelines. We’re leaning in, experimenting boldly, and shaping what this future will mean for us, for our products, and for the educators we serve.
Our R&D culture has always thrived on curiosity and thoughtful risk-taking. We’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, that the best way to handle big changes — like moving to new frameworks or migrating core systems — is to steer directly into the risks, learn fast, and share openly. That spirit is guiding us now as we embrace AI.
We started small: inviting a few engineers to experiment with emerging tools and see what was possible. Those early explorations showed us both the limitations of AI today and the extraordinary potential it carries. Since then, more engineers have joined in, running experiments, mentoring peers, and helping shape how we’ll use these tools together. Over time, this exploration will expand across the whole team.
At the same time, we remain focused on growth and learning. These tools should deepen our skills, not shortcut them. That’s why we’re being thoughtful: encouraging experimentation that puts learning and responsibility at the center. A big part of this is identifying best practices — not just what works, but how to use AI in ways that are responsible, scalable, and truly additive to our craft.
We’re already seeing a culture take shape where sharing AI learnings — the wins, the frustrations, the surprises — is second nature. Best practices are starting to emerge and spread across teams. Engineers are not just becoming comfortable with AI, but genuinely excited about how it helps us work differently, collaborate more effectively, and deliver greater impact.
And this is only the beginning. Beyond the early experiments, we see the potential for AI to fundamentally reshape how we approach our craft: rethinking the way we solve problems, how we collaborate across functions, and how we deliver value to educators and multilingual learners. That vision is what excites us most about this moment.
AI gives us permission to reimagine. To throw some assumptions out the window. To rethink how we build, how we learn, and how we deliver value. This isn’t about doing more faster — it’s about doing things differently, and finding new ways to create impact where it matters most.
We don’t have all the answers yet — and that’s the exciting part. The measure of progress right now isn’t polished solutions, it’s learning. And if we stay hungry, curious, and open, we’ll chart a path that makes AI not just part of our craft, but part of how Ellevation delivers on its mission to help educators and multilingual learners thrive.
