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BrandInsightAI Insights
Education · refreshed weekly

How AI wants online learning

Online Learning is decided on attraction: Duolingo indexes 123 there against JobSkilla at 71, a 52-point spread. Duolingo holds the strongest overall profile, indexing 119 against the category average: ahead on all three. Across these 57 brands, attachment tracks being named most closely (rank correlation 0.32).

57 brands · 60 AI answers · 860 dimension scores · measured, never estimated

Attraction Standing out in the answer: named first, described as superior, magnetic and influential.
Affinity Belonging in the answer: tied to identity, values and legitimacy, not just specifications.
Attachment Staying in the answer: recommended again, dependable, easy, part of the routine.
AttractionAffinityAttachment Each whorl lights one ring per index threshold cleared (90 / 96 / 102 / 108 / 115)

100 = the average brand in the same category.100 = the average brand across every category in the index.

Education

Online Learning

#Brand AttractionAffinityAttachment SummaryNamed in
1 Duolingo: Attraction 123, Affinity 114, Attachment 117Duolingo: Attraction 124, Affinity 116, Attachment 117Duolingo 123124 114116 117117 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 0%
2 MasterClass: Attraction 120, Affinity 119, Attachment 110MasterClass: Attraction 122, Affinity 121, Attachment 110MasterClass 120122 119121 110110 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 0%
3 ADPList: Attraction 117, Affinity 120, Attachment 110ADPList: Attraction 119, Affinity 123, Attachment 110ADPList 117119 120123 110110 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 3%
4 Khan Academy: Attraction 114, Affinity 116, Attachment 113Khan Academy: Attraction 116, Affinity 119, Attachment 113Khan Academy 114116 116119 113113 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 7%
5 LinkedIn Learning: Attraction 110, Affinity 115, Attachment 114LinkedIn Learning: Attraction 112, Affinity 117, Attachment 114LinkedIn Learning 110112 115117 114114 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 18%
6 Brilliant: Attraction 116, Affinity 112, Attachment 107Brilliant: Attraction 117, Affinity 114, Attachment 107Brilliant 116117 112114 107107 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 2%
7 British Council: Attraction 109, Affinity 112, Attachment 110British Council: Attraction 110, Affinity 114, Attachment 110British Council 109110 112114 110110 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 5%
8 HubSpot Academy: Attraction 114, Affinity 110, Attachment 100HubSpot Academy: Attraction 116, Affinity 112, Attachment 100HubSpot Academy 114116 110112 100100 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 3%
9 Codecademy: Attraction 110, Affinity 106, Attachment 110Codecademy: Attraction 112, Affinity 108, Attachment 110Codecademy 110112 106108 110110 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 3%
10 Le Wagon: Attraction 110, Affinity 114, Attachment 99Le Wagon: Attraction 112, Affinity 116, Attachment 99Le Wagon 110112 114116 9999 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 0%
11 The London School of English: Attraction 106, Affinity 114, Attachment 106The London School of English: Attraction 107, Affinity 116, Attachment 106The London School of English 106107 114116 106106 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 0%
12 UXfolio: Attraction 112, Affinity 106, Attachment 103UXfolio: Attraction 113, Affinity 108, Attachment 103UXfolio 112113 106108 103103 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 2%
13 Domestika: Attraction 106, Affinity 107, Attachment 106Domestika: Attraction 107, Affinity 109, Attachment 106Domestika 106107 107109 106106 Ahead on all threeAhead on all three 0%
14 edX: Attraction 106, Affinity 103, Attachment 106edX: Attraction 107, Affinity 105, Attachment 106edX 106107 103105 106106 Chosen, not lovedAhead on all three 10%
15 Udacity: Attraction 109, Affinity 103, Attachment 96Udacity: Attraction 110, Affinity 105, Attachment 96Udacity 109110 103105 9696 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 2%
16 Babbel: Attraction 107, Affinity 103, Attachment 103Babbel: Attraction 109, Affinity 105, Attachment 103Babbel 107109 103105 103103 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
17 General Assembly: Attraction 109, Affinity 106, Attachment 99General Assembly: Attraction 110, Affinity 108, Attachment 99General Assembly 109110 106108 9999 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
18 italki: Attraction 103, Affinity 106, Attachment 107italki: Attraction 105, Affinity 108, Attachment 107italki 103105 106108 107107 Relied on, not excitingAhead on all three 2%
19 Coursera: Attraction 103, Affinity 103, Attachment 106Coursera: Attraction 105, Affinity 105, Attachment 106Coursera 103105 103105 106106 Relied on, not excitingAhead on all three 33%
20 Pluralsight: Attraction 105, Affinity 101, Attachment 106Pluralsight: Attraction 106, Affinity 103, Attachment 106Pluralsight 105106 101103 106106 Chosen, not lovedChosen, not loved 0%
21 freeCodeCamp: Attraction 105, Affinity 107, Attachment 99freeCodeCamp: Attraction 106, Affinity 109, Attachment 99freeCodeCamp 105106 107109 9999 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 0%
22 Springboard: Attraction 105, Affinity 106, Attachment 100Springboard: Attraction 106, Affinity 108, Attachment 100Springboard 105106 106108 100100 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 0%
23 Educative: Attraction 106, Affinity 101, Attachment 103Educative: Attraction 107, Affinity 103, Attachment 103Educative 106107 101103 103103 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
24 Place2Be: Attraction 102, Affinity 112, Attachment 99Place2Be: Attraction 103, Affinity 114, Attachment 99Place2Be 102103 112114 9999 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 2%
25 Triple P: Attraction 102, Affinity 110, Attachment 99Triple P: Attraction 103, Affinity 112, Attachment 99Triple P 102103 110112 9999 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 3%
26 Udemy: Attraction 102, Affinity 99, Attachment 108Udemy: Attraction 103, Affinity 101, Attachment 109Udemy 102103 99101 108109 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 18%
27 FutureLearn: Attraction 102, Affinity 103, Attachment 106FutureLearn: Attraction 103, Affinity 105, Attachment 106FutureLearn 102103 103105 106106 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 10%
28 DataCamp: Attraction 103, Affinity 100, Attachment 103DataCamp: Attraction 105, Affinity 102, Attachment 103DataCamp 103105 100102 103103 Average on all threeNoticed, not returned to 0%
29 Open University: Attraction 103, Affinity 104, Attachment 100Open University: Attraction 105, Affinity 106, Attachment 100Open University 103105 104106 100100 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 8%
30 Solihull Approach: Attraction 101, Affinity 108, Attachment 97Solihull Approach: Attraction 102, Affinity 110, Attachment 98Solihull Approach 101102 108110 9798 Credible, not first choiceCredible, not first choice 5%
31 The School of UX: Attraction 102, Affinity 101, Attachment 99The School of UX: Attraction 103, Affinity 103, Attachment 99The School of UX 102103 101103 9999 Average on all threeAverage on all three 3%
32 UX Academy: Attraction 103, Affinity 101, Attachment 93UX Academy: Attraction 105, Affinity 103, Attachment 93UX Academy 103105 101103 9393 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 3%
33 EF English Live: Attraction 99, Affinity 101, Attachment 100EF English Live: Attraction 100, Affinity 103, Attachment 100EF English Live 99100 101103 100100 Average on all threeAverage on all three 3%
34 UI Collective: Attraction 101, Affinity 99, Attachment 96UI Collective: Attraction 102, Affinity 101, Attachment 96UI Collective 101102 99101 9696 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
35 Skillshare: Attraction 98, Affinity 96, Attachment 103Skillshare: Attraction 99, Affinity 98, Attachment 103Skillshare 9899 9698 103103 Relied on, not excitingAverage on all three 3%
36 Treehouse: Attraction 96, Affinity 95, Attachment 100Treehouse: Attraction 98, Affinity 97, Attachment 100Treehouse 9698 9597 100100 Relied on, not excitingAverage on all three 2%
37 Promova: Attraction 99, Affinity 93, Attachment 96Promova: Attraction 100, Affinity 95, Attachment 96Promova 99100 9395 9696 Noticed, not returned toNoticed, not returned to 0%
38 Simplilearn: Attraction 95, Affinity 95, Attachment 100Simplilearn: Attraction 96, Affinity 97, Attachment 100Simplilearn 9596 9597 100100 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 0%
39 Preply: Attraction 92, Affinity 93, Attachment 106Preply: Attraction 93, Affinity 95, Attachment 106Preply 9293 9395 106106 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 5%
40 Code Labs Academy: Attraction 96, Affinity 92, Attachment 93Code Labs Academy: Attraction 98, Affinity 94, Attachment 93Code Labs Academy 9698 9294 9393 Behind on all threeNoticed, not returned to 3%
41 University of Essex Online: Attraction 95, Affinity 93, Attachment 96University of Essex Online: Attraction 96, Affinity 95, Attachment 96University of Essex Online 9596 9395 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
42 Arden University: Attraction 94, Affinity 93, Attachment 96Arden University: Attraction 95, Affinity 95, Attachment 96Arden University 9495 9395 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%
43 OpenClassrooms: Attraction 92, Affinity 92, Attachment 93OpenClassrooms: Attraction 93, Affinity 94, Attachment 93OpenClassrooms 9293 9294 9393 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
44 ELLA Business English: Attraction 91, Affinity 92, Attachment 96ELLA Business English: Attraction 92, Affinity 94, Attachment 96ELLA Business English 9192 9294 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
45 UXPortfolio.co: Attraction 95, Affinity 92, Attachment 89UXPortfolio.co: Attraction 96, Affinity 94, Attachment 89UXPortfolio.co 9596 9294 8989 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
46 The Skills Network: Attraction 92, Affinity 93, Attachment 96The Skills Network: Attraction 93, Affinity 95, Attachment 96The Skills Network 9293 9395 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 3%
47 Outdraw Academy: Attraction 92, Affinity 92, Attachment 92Outdraw Academy: Attraction 93, Affinity 94, Attachment 92Outdraw Academy 9293 9294 9292 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
48 UX Beginner: Attraction 92, Affinity 92, Attachment 96UX Beginner: Attraction 93, Affinity 94, Attachment 96UX Beginner 9293 9294 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%
49 Great Learning: Attraction 92, Affinity 88, Attachment 96Great Learning: Attraction 93, Affinity 90, Attachment 96Great Learning 9293 8890 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
50 Virtual College: Attraction 89, Affinity 93, Attachment 96Virtual College: Attraction 91, Affinity 95, Attachment 96Virtual College 8991 9395 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%
51 Strive Training: Attraction 88, Affinity 92, Attachment 92Strive Training: Attraction 89, Affinity 94, Attachment 92Strive Training 8889 9294 9292 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
52 Alison: Attraction 87, Affinity 87, Attachment 99Alison: Attraction 88, Affinity 88, Attachment 99Alison 8788 8788 9999 Relied on, not excitingRelied on, not exciting 5%
53 Study.com: Attraction 84, Affinity 85, Attachment 96Study.com: Attraction 85, Affinity 87, Attachment 96Study.com 8485 8587 9696 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
54 New Skills Academy: Attraction 77, Affinity 78, Attachment 89New Skills Academy: Attraction 78, Affinity 80, Attachment 89New Skills Academy 7778 7880 8989 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%
55 E-Courses4you: Attraction 73, Affinity 78, Attachment 86E-Courses4you: Attraction 74, Affinity 80, Attachment 87E-Courses4you 7374 7880 8687 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 0%
56 One Education: Attraction 74, Affinity 78, Attachment 85One Education: Attraction 75, Affinity 80, Attachment 85One Education 7475 7880 8585 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%
57 JobSkilla: Attraction 71, Affinity 76, Attachment 78JobSkilla: Attraction 72, Affinity 77, Attachment 78JobSkilla 7172 7677 7878 Behind on all threeBehind on all three 2%

Indexed against the average of the 57 indexed online learning brands, so 100 is the category average and a brand is read against the rivals it actually competes with.Indexed against the average of every indexed brand in the whole index — 1,605 brands across 61 categories — so 100 is the average brand anywhere here and a number reads the same on every board. 57 online learning brands, measured across 60 AI answers in the latest weekly run.

Driver by driver

Where the category actually separates. A wide spread means assistants describe these brands very differently on that driver; a narrow one means it is table stakes.

Attraction

52-point spread · tracks being named 0.11
Duolingo123
JobSkilla71

The widest field of the three: this is where the category separates.

Affinity

44-point spread · tracks being named 0.20
ADPList120
JobSkilla76

Real separation, but not the category’s defining contest.

Attachment

39-point spread · tracks being named 0.32
Duolingo117
JobSkilla78

The tightest of the three: most brands land close together here.

Where each brand stands

Each brand's three indices, summed up in a line: which drivers it is ahead on, which it is behind on, and the one to build next. A brand that is noticed but not returned to has a different problem from one that is relied on but not exciting.

Duolingo: Attraction 123, Affinity 114, Attachment 117
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Duolingo · MasterClass · ADPList · Khan Academy · LinkedIn Learning · Brilliant · British Council · Codecademy · The London School of English · Domestika
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
HubSpot Academy: Attraction 114, Affinity 110, Attachment 100
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
HubSpot Academy · UXfolio · Udacity · Babbel · General Assembly · Educative · UX Academy · UI Collective · Promova
Build next: attachment
italki: Attraction 103, Affinity 106, Attachment 107
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
italki · Coursera · Udemy · FutureLearn · Skillshare · Treehouse · Simplilearn · Preply · Alison
Build next: attraction
Le Wagon: Attraction 110, Affinity 114, Attachment 99
Credible, not first choice
Affinity (identity, values, legitimacy) is its strongest driver.
Le Wagon · freeCodeCamp · Springboard · Place2Be · Triple P · Open University · Solihull Approach
Build next: attraction
DataCamp: Attraction 103, Affinity 100, Attachment 103
Average on all three
Close to average on every driver.
DataCamp · The School of UX · EF English Live
Build next: attraction
edX: Attraction 106, Affinity 103, Attachment 106
Chosen, not loved
Attraction and attachment are ahead; affinity trails behind them.
edX · Pluralsight
Build next: affinity
Code Labs Academy: Attraction 96, Affinity 92, Attachment 93
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Code Labs Academy · University of Essex Online · Arden University · OpenClassrooms · ELLA Business English · UXPortfolio.co · The Skills Network · Outdraw Academy · UX Beginner · Great Learning · Virtual College · Strive Training · Study.com · New Skills Academy · E-Courses4you · One Education · JobSkilla
Build next: attraction
Duolingo: Attraction 124, Affinity 116, Attachment 117
Ahead on all three
Above average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
Duolingo · MasterClass · ADPList · Khan Academy · LinkedIn Learning · Brilliant · British Council · Codecademy · The London School of English · Domestika · edX · italki · Coursera
No driver is behind; protect the lead.
HubSpot Academy: Attraction 116, Affinity 112, Attachment 100
Noticed, not returned to
Attraction is its strongest driver; attachment trails behind it.
HubSpot Academy · UXfolio · Udacity · Babbel · General Assembly · Educative · DataCamp · UX Academy · UI Collective · Promova · Code Labs Academy
Build next: attachment
Udemy: Attraction 103, Affinity 101, Attachment 109
Relied on, not exciting
Attachment is its strongest driver; attraction trails behind it.
Udemy · FutureLearn · Simplilearn · Preply · Alison
Build next: attraction
Le Wagon: Attraction 112, Affinity 116, Attachment 99
Credible, not first choice
Affinity (identity, values, legitimacy) is its strongest driver.
Le Wagon · freeCodeCamp · Springboard · Place2Be · Triple P · Open University · Solihull Approach
Build next: attraction
The School of UX: Attraction 103, Affinity 103, Attachment 99
Average on all three
Close to average on every driver.
The School of UX · EF English Live · Skillshare · Treehouse
Build next: attraction
Pluralsight: Attraction 106, Affinity 103, Attachment 106
Chosen, not loved
Attraction and attachment are ahead; affinity trails behind them.
Pluralsight
Build next: affinity
University of Essex Online: Attraction 96, Affinity 95, Attachment 96
Behind on all three
Below average on attraction, affinity and attachment.
University of Essex Online · Arden University · OpenClassrooms · ELLA Business English · UXPortfolio.co · The Skills Network · Outdraw Academy · UX Beginner · Great Learning · Virtual College · Strive Training · Study.com · New Skills Academy · E-Courses4you · One Education · JobSkilla
Build next: attraction

What assistants actually talk about

The sixteen dimensions underneath the drivers, scored 0–10 on how the answers describe each brand. Spread is the distance between the strongest and weakest brand: the widest are where a brand can still separate itself, the narrowest are the price of entry.

Where brands separate

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Style & Aesthetic Attraction 7.0 MasterClass 10.0 5.5
Heritage & Authority Attraction 6.7 British Council 9.3 5.3
Boldness & Creativity Attraction 6.6 MasterClass 9.0 4.5
Leadership & Momentum Attraction 7.4 Duolingo 9.5 4.5
Lifestyle Fit & Identity Affinity 7.0 MasterClass 9.0 4.5

Where everyone reads alike

DimensionDriverCategory avgStrongestSpread
Delivery & Fulfilment Attachment 7.2 British Council 8.0 1.0
Reliability & Consistency Affinity 7.7 LinkedIn Learning 9.0 3.0
Sustainability & Ethics Affinity 7.0 Place2Be 9.0 3.0
Quality & Performance Attraction 7.6 MasterClass 9.0 3.0
Trust & Credibility Affinity 7.8 British Council 9.3 3.3

Does desire track being recommended?

Rank correlation between a brand's driver index and the share of answers naming it, across the 57 indexed brands in this category. A relationship inside one run's answers — descriptive, never causal, and easily moved by a single brand at this sample size.

Attraction0.11
Affinity0.20
Attachment0.32

Method & limitations

Every week, each category runs a fixed set of unbranded consumer prompts against ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. A separate model reads the answers and scores every brand named in them across 16 perception dimensions, 0–10. Those dimensions are grouped into the three Drivers of Desire from the Havas Science of Desire framework, and each brand's driver score is indexed against the average brand in its own category — 100 is the category average, 115 is fifteen per cent above it. The Vs all categories switch re-indexes the same scores against the average of every indexed brand across every category, so boards can be read against each other; the ranking inside a category is the same either way. Each category's own average, indexed against the whole index, is its place in the category table. The summary beside each brand describes where it stands on the three drivers against whichever benchmark is showing: above 104 counts as ahead, below 96 as behind.

This measures how AI assistants describe brands in their answers. It is not a survey of people, and it is not an endorsement: the scores are a reading of machine-generated text at the time of the run, and relationships between drivers and how often a brand is named are correlational. A brand needs at least six scored dimensions in a run to be indexed, and a category needs at least four such brands to get a board. See the full methodology.