TLDR: A recent report by compliance training platform Ethena reveals that ChatGPT’s new ‘agent mode’ can autonomously complete employee compliance training modules across various platforms, mimicking human interaction and avoiding detection. This development poses significant challenges for HR and compliance teams, raising concerns about the integrity of mandatory training completion and the effectiveness of current compliance strategies. Experts suggest that instead of solely focusing on detection, organizations should reassess the value and engagement of their training programs.
Recent controlled testing by Ethena, a prominent compliance training platform, has unveiled a significant development in the realm of employee compliance: ChatGPT’s newly introduced ‘agent tool’ is capable of completing mandatory compliance training content without any human intervention. This AI agent successfully mimicked real-interaction with training modules and, critically, managed to avoid detection across multiple vendor platforms, including Ethena’s own.
This revelation, detailed in a report published on August 19, 2025, by HR Brew, highlights a burgeoning challenge for human resources and compliance professionals. The core promise of artificial intelligence has long been its capacity to automate repetitive and mundane tasks, thereby freeing up human employees for more complex and strategic work. However, the prospect of AI agents autonomously completing essential compliance training raises profound questions about the authenticity of training completion and the very foundation of regulatory adherence.
Chris Vandermarel, Ethena’s VP of marketing, described the current situation as ‘fairly nascent.’ He stated, ‘We think it’s unlikely that a lot of employees are doing this at this point in time, but as the technology matures, as the knowledge gets shared, as one colleague whispers to another colleague…We think this is one of those things that’s nascent today, but could change very quickly.’ The company’s engineers began exploring the potential for AI agents in compliance training after ChatGPT released its ‘agent mode’ in July. Their testing quickly confirmed that the tool was ‘so good at mimicking human behavior, that it just does it all flawlessly,’ indicating a ‘widespread’ problem across various training platforms.
The implications for HR leaders are substantial. The ability of AI to bypass traditional training completion mechanisms means that companies may soon struggle to fully trust that mandatory courses, often required by federal, state, and local governments, or as part of legal settlements, have genuinely been absorbed by human employees. This could jeopardize true compliance and necessitate updates to enforcement efforts and company policies.
Vandermarel emphasized the simplicity of the AI’s operation, noting, ‘It’s a very, very simple prompt, which is part of what makes this story so wild, because people skipping mandatory training is not a new concept. This is something that people have been doing for a long time.’ He warned that the increasing ubiquity of ChatGPT and other AI agents could significantly escalate this risk for compliance teams.
Rethinking Compliance Strategy in the Age of AI
In response to this evolving threat, Melanie Naranjo, Ethena’s CPO, suggested a fundamental shift in approach for HR departments. She advised reassessing the inherent value of compliance training to employees. Naranjo stressed the importance of delivering ‘engaging, up-to-date training with real-world scenarios and situations that employees might actually encounter.’
Naranjo highlighted the psychological impact of AI-driven training completion: ‘From an HR perspective, what really comes to mind for me is that the fact that it’s so easy and that there are so few barriers to making it happen risks it becoming more normalized and feeling less like you’re breaking the rules.’
To counter this, HR teams can explore several strategies:
Offer test-out options: Allowing employees to demonstrate existing knowledge could reduce the perceived burden of training.
Promote leadership modeling: Encouraging leaders to actively participate and demonstrate the value of training can foster a more positive culture around compliance.
Monitor data and analytics: Vigilant oversight of training completion data for unusual patterns, such as an entire department finishing a module in the exact same time, could flag potential AI usage.
However, Vandermarel cautioned against a purely technological arms race, stating that ‘AI systems are evolving much faster than prevention methods and vendors.’ He believes that attempting to ‘fight fire with fire’ by deploying AI tools solely for monitoring and prevention is unlikely to be a successful long-term strategy. Instead, the focus should be on creating compliance training that is genuinely ‘relevant and tailored for them and respects their time and prior knowledge.’
Naranjo concluded by underscoring the deeper issue: ‘The tech is the surface-level problem. If you’re addressing that and nothing else, then I think what you’re actually missing is a really key opportunity to take this moment in time to take a step back and reflect on what is your actual compliance strategy, and is it effective? If it was effective, you wouldn’t have employees using AI agent mode to take their training. They would actually want to take the training. They would understand the value.”
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This news underscores a critical juncture for HR and compliance, urging a move beyond mere box-ticking towards fostering a culture of genuine understanding and engagement in employee compliance.
