Companies Pause Work for Weeklong AI Immersion Programs

Vertafore and Canva paused regular operations to run weeklong AI immersion programs that trained their workforces in practical tools, ethics, security and steps for implementation. Vertafore held its AI Immersion Week in November for more than 2,300 global employees. Canva ran an AI Discovery Week in July for over 5,000 staff. Both companies set aside time and resources so teams could move from experimentation toward real-world use.

Vertafore started with company-wide sessions on AI ethics, security and responsible use before teams spent the week applying tools to their day-to-day work. Tracey Brown, senior vice president and general manager at Vertafore, noted, ‘Everyone started with the same baseline — company-wide training on ethics, security and responsible use — so we were all speaking the same language.’ Experts were available to help teams test ideas and plan implementations. Canva offered about 30 technical and non-technical workshops in a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ schedule. Faye Longhurst, regional people lead Europe at Canva, described the program as an intentional learning space and added that employees were encouraged to postpone non-urgent meetings to focus on training.

A 2025 TalentLMS survey of 1,200 U.S. employees found 54% reported a lack of employer guidelines on AI tool use and 49% said AI advances were outpacing their company’s training capabilities. Nearly two-thirds (63%) judged current AI training programs as needing significant improvement, and 69% said training should be delivered faster. The survey also flagged the risk of ‘shadow AI’—employees using unapproved tools outside official guidance.

Canva recorded more than 25,000 hours of learning during its week and generated 330 hackathon ideas. Internal roadshows showcased projects including a tool to coordinate meetings across time zones and an AI agent that recommends templates. Vertafore’s post-training surveys showed higher confidence among employees and managers in using AI, and the share of employees who viewed AI as a ‘go-to collaborator’ doubled. Engineers at Vertafore used AI to speed coding and testing, while customer support teams used it to summarize calls and flag cases for escalation.

Canva maintains an internal AI hub with materials for self-paced study and holds bi-monthly forums for teams to share progress. Vertafore continues to reinforce that AI should amplify human judgment and keeps humans in the loop as teams implement AI-assisted processes. Brown observed that the week helped teams move from curiosity and experimentation to actual implementation.

An EY report from October, polling 1,100 workers, found 84% were enthusiastic about agentic AI, while 56% worried about job security and 51% believed agents could push workers out of the labor market. Both companies used their immersion programs to clarify responsible-use policies and to demonstrate how AI can support existing roles.

Both firms say they will adapt their training approaches based on employee feedback to keep learning aligned with new tools and workplace needs.