New National Coalition to Advance Responsible Use of AI in Career Guidance
Thursday, January 22, 2026
A cross-sector alliance of more than 80 organisations releases inaugural findings on trust, equity and guardrails for AI-powered career tools. Leaders from nearly 100 education, workforce, employer, nonprofit and philanthropic organisations announced the launch of a new coalition aimed at ensuring that artificial intelligence strengthens access to high-quality career guidance. Known as the AI for Career Development Coalition (AICD), the cross-sector alliance also today released its inaugural report, "How Do We Know Whether These Tools Are Good?", which captures insights from educators, workforce leaders, researchers, funders and policymakers on how AI should and should not, shape career development.
"AI has tremendous potential to provide effective career guidance at an unprecedented scale. But as the technology continues to capture the attention of businesses, education providers and policymakers, the greatest risk is that it leaves behind the people who stand to benefit the most from that potential," said Jared Chung, Founder and CEO, CareerVillage, a nonprofit career navigation platform that serves as the coalition's founding convener and one of the five members of its steering committee. "This coalition exists to ensure that doesn't happen. Together, our goal is to build shared understanding, common guardrails, and practical guidance so AI expands access to career support and earns the trust of the people it's meant to serve."
The coalition's first report, released recently, draws on listening sessions with coalition members across K-12, higher education, workforce systems, nonprofits, employers and funders, as well as a sector-wide survey conducted in the summer of 2025. According to its findings, organisations involved in career navigation are optimistic about the potential applications of AI, but also aware of its risks: nearly half (48%) believe that education and workforce institutions are failing to deploy AI tools in ways that effectively reach underserved populations. The report identifies key opportunities for funders, policymakers, researchers and practitioners to support and inform the development of AI-enabled tools that expand access to high-quality career guidance.
"AI technology promises to democratise access and accelerate innovation in hiring, but this power requires great responsibility," said Natalia Lara, Director, Product Design, Inclusion Mode, Platform Partnerships at Opportunity@Work. "There is an urgent need to shape AI's development for good: to popularise, accelerate and achieve immense positive impact throughout their lives."
Over the coming year, the coalition will focus on translating the report's insights into action, including developing shared principles and standards, supporting institutional readiness and elevating evidence from real-world implementations.
