Best Of

I don’t think anyone in this forum would ever accuse me of being an optimist regarding Udemy - and I’d respond with “give me something to be optimistic about”.

But… I’m also willing to offer kudos when they are deserved. What I saw in the Front Row today does “seem” like a great move in the right direction - although I do worry about consumption minutes actually being negatively affected.

Today is the first day in quite a while where I feel like Udemy is actually trying to offer something not designed simply to placate us (ie. the insane 1:1 coaching offering that is never gonna work).

Despite removing several courses from the platform, including UfB, over the last month or so, I HAVE left the door ajar because despite my pessimism, I do hold out some hope that Udemy rights the ship.

What I saw today seems like a move in the right direction. Time will tell.

That's correct, this will be handled internally - no need to take any action.

Hey instructors,

We understand that things are changing fast, and it’s 100% normal to wonder what that means for you as an instructor. But here’s what we are seeing on our end: learners don’t just want information, they want a real person to guide them through learning new subjects that they are passionate about. 

Here’s what we have been working on…

Four Strategic Initiatives Launching:

Subscription Bonus - We’re excited to announce a new incentive to reward instructors’ contributions to Udemy’s growing subscription business. We aim to compensate instructors whenever their course landing page results in a consumer subscription sale. For 2026, we have allocated up to $2M USD to support this.

Instructor Subscription Phased Rollout - We’ve been listening to instructors’ feedback on engaging learners beyond the traditional methods of learning. With your feedback, we plan a phased rollout of a new experience  around Instructor Subscriptions

This is a complementary format to help you directly engage with learners, build communities, and experiment with various content types! 

AI-Powered Micro-learning - We’re going to be rolling out various AI-powered tools to help transform existing courses into microlearning experiences. This will aim to meet learners where they are, such as during work, on mobile, or to enforce brief study sessions.

Content Innovation Fund -  Many of you are pioneers in your space, and we want to invest in your insights and content that’s leading the charge in your field! We are committing $2.5M USD for our Content Innovation Fund. This investment is dedicated to providing grants and resources to instructors who are developing new content formats, microlearning opportunities, and experimenting with subscription-based learning experiences.

Visit our blog post to learn more.

Have any thoughts? Feel free to share them in the comments below!

Teach on,

Ryan