AI Product Pivot at Peers
Doubling Inbound Leads and Boosting ARPU by 230% with a GPT-based Skill Management Platform
Context
We launched Peers as a platform for personalized learning. But over our first three years, we faced a volatile macro environment: COVID, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and tightening Learning and Development (L&D) budgets. Despite this, we continued to grow with small and medium sized businesses (SMB) clients, but we noticed a clear pattern: Learning programs were the first to be deprioritized during budget cuts.
Meanwhile, enterprise clients began reaching out, though not for learning, but for AI-driven skill management. Their Learning Management Systems (LMS) lacked the ability to map, assess, and develop employees' skills in a dynamic way. We saw an opportunity to shift from learning delivery to talent intelligence.
Hypothesis to validation
We began validating the shift with:
- Expert interviews
- Competitive analysis of emerging players
- A deep-dive keyword analysis showing rising search volume for ‘AI-based skill management’ and related terms
The signal was strong: enterprise buyers were actively seeking solutions and we already had the raw ingredients.
Product pivot & AI implementation
Over three years, we had built a proprietary machine learning-based skill graph to recommend learning content. That data and architecture became the foundation for our pivot.
We explored integrating our model with newly emerging GPT APIs. We realized that LLMs could outperform our legacy ML system in identifying skill gaps, generating personalized learning paths, and creating role benchmarks.
We redesigned our product with:
- A new tech stack centered on GPT-based skills reasoning
- A tailored UX for enterprise talent development teams
- Integration with existing LMS tools like SAP and Cornerstone
Go-to-Market alignment
We also redefined our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): From SMBs purchasing learning platforms → to enterprises already using LMS, now looking to expand into skill management.
Because learning still made up ~70% of our revenue, we kept existing clients but froze further development on the legacy platform and shifted all new efforts to the AI product.
Results
The pivot delivered fast, measurable results:
- 17x increase in ARPU
- 230% sales funnel efficiency improvement
- 2x increase in inbound leads
- Increased strategic attractiveness, ultimately leading to our acquisition by edyoucated
