AI Academy secures double win

Forty1 has won two awards at the Engage Awards 2026 for AI Academy, a people-centered AI adoption solution designed to help organizations turn investment in AI into measurable behavior change.

The wins include:

• Gold – Everyday AI for Customers & Colleagues
• Bronze – Best Use of Training

The awards recognize an approach that goes beyond traditional AI training, combining behavioral science, strategic communications, creativity, and practical learning to help organizations build confidence, develop capability, and embed AI into everyday work.

An approach to AI adoption that starts with people

Organizations are investing heavily in AI, but getting employees to use it confidently and effectively remains a challenge. It’s one the teams behind AI Academy know firsthand.

AI Academy was originally developed to address this challenge within Inizio Engage XD, where an initial assessment revealed that while 78% of employees wanted to use generative AI more, over half weren’t using approved AI tools.

The challenge wasn’t a lack of interest. It was confidence, clarity, and knowing how to apply AI to real work.

To tackle these barriers, teams from Forty1 and Nazaré combined their expertise in employee experience, behavioral science, strategic communications, and learning to develop an approach built around people, rather than technology.

Rather than simply teaching employees how to use AI tools, the Academy was designed to change how they thought about AI, talked about it, and applied it in their roles. Three connected learning pathways, Learn, Explore, and Speak, brought this approach to life through practical training, real-world challenges, leadership engagement, and opportunities to learn from one another.

Measurable results, award-winning impact

By focusing on practical application and building confidence, AI Academy delivered measurable improvements in how employees used AI in their everyday work.

Within just nine weeks, the results included:

• 47% increase in confidence using generative AI
• 42% increase in self-reported AI capability
• Inizio Engage XD | Integrated Agency sent by participants using enterprise AI tools
• 3.6x increase in the use of AI tools

These results demonstrated that the Academy was doing more than delivering training. It was helping employees put AI into practice and change how they worked.

It’s this combination of thoughtful design and measurable impact that has now been recognized at the Engage Awards.

In awarding Gold, the judges’ feedback highlighted the Academy’s success:

“The judges praised a people-centric, thoughtful and well-built approach to embedding AI into the business. Strong testimonials, and its roll-out as a solution for clients, show just how successful it has been.”

The Bronze award for Best Use of Training further recognizes the Academy’s ability to translate learning into meaningful changes in confidence, capability, and behavior.

Read the full AI Academy case study to explore the approach and results in more detail.

From internal success to an award-winning client solution

The judges’ recognition also reflects an important next step for AI Academy: taking what worked internally and making it available to other organizations.

Building on its success within Inizio Engage XD, AI Academy has since evolved into a scalable solution designed to help organizations facing similar challenges.

Combining expertise in employee experience, behavior change, and learning, the Academy offers a practical way to build confidence, accelerate adoption, and get more value from AI investments.

These two awards are fantastic recognition for everyone involved in developing and delivering the Academy.

Congratulations to the teams across Forty1, Nazaré, and Inizio Engage XD who brought it to life.

Explore AI Academy to find out how it can help your organization turn AI investment into everyday adoption.