Why is Microsoft Closing Libraries in Favour of AI Learning?

Microsoft is closing its employee library as part of the company’s move towards AI-based workplace learning. 

This move will impact both the company’s physical libraries and digital subscriptions to books and journals. 

According to a report in The Verge, an internal Microsoft FAQ revealed the decision has been made “as part of Microsoft’s move toward a more modern, connected learning experience through the Skilling Hub”.

The company introduced its Skilling Hub in July 2025, which acts as a single access point for learning and training, according to Microsoft. 

Going forward, the Skilling Hub is expected to personalise learning for Microsoft employees, using AI technology to recommend skills aligned with business needs – with AI skills playing a more prominent role. 

Microsoft's shift to AI 

Closing its libraries marks a new phase of employee learning and development for the company, as Microsoft continues to nurture AI in its operations. 

In October 2025, CEO Satya Nadella told Brad Gerstner’s BG2 podcast that the company was encouraging employees to embed AI in the way they think about their workload.

He told the podcast about an executive who built AI agents to handle increased demand, saying: “It’s the unlearning and learning process that I think will take the next year or so, then the headcount growth will come with max leverage”

Microsoft is investing heavily in its AI capabilities, having opened a dedicated Microsoft AI division in March 2024. 

Run by DeepMind founder and now Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, the division was created to integrate AI throughout the business and develop the company’s Copilot assistant. 

Under his tenure, Microsoft AI has turned its focus to a new goal – Human Superintelligence. 

Mustafa discussed this shift on the Microsoft AI blog in November 2025, saying: “At Microsoft AI, we’re working towards Human Superintelligence: incredibly advanced AI capabilities that always work for, in service of, people and humanity more generally.

“We think of it as systems that are problem-oriented and tend towards the domain specific. Not an unbounded and unlimited entity with high degrees of autonomy – but AI that is carefully calibrated, contextualised, within limits.”

Satya has previously discussed the importance of human-AI collaboration as part of Microsoft’s wider strategy, stressing to the MD Meets podcast the value the company places on emotional intelligence in the AI era. 

“IQ has a place, but it’s not the only thing that is needed in the world,” he said. “And I’ve always felt at least as a leader, you know, if you have IQ without EQ, it’s just a waste of EQ.”

Explaining that Microsoft’s ethos is centred on “trust and empowerment reinforced with a culture of learning,” Satya told the MD Meets podcast that the company sees emotional intelligence as a key driver of innovation.

He said: “The question that needs to be answered by every company is what do I know that is unique?"

Using AI to upskill employees

Microsoft isn't alone in targeting these kinds of developments. As AI use cases increase, more and more organisations are taking a closer look at the way they upskill employees. 

In particular, LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslanksy is pushing for employers to build AI literacy with the announcement of his self-help book ‘Open to Work: How to Get Ahead in the Age of AI’, saying on LinkedIn in January 2026: “The future of work is not off on the horizon. It is here now, moving fast, shaped by the choices we make today.

“AI is already changing how we learn, how we create and how we move forward. The real question is not what the technology can do. The real question is what we choose to do with it.”