CPD Genie is the AI tool built into Open CPD that reads what you have described about your course and suggests the structured Aims, Skills, and Outcomes that go on every certificate. It is not a chatbot. You do not have to prompt it, instruct it, or craft questions. You describe your course — what it covers, how it runs, what you teach — and CPD Genie does the structuring work.
The problem it solves
Most training providers have never had to write Aims, Skills, and Outcomes in a formal way. The training exists. The quality is there. But expressing what learners will achieve — in structured, specific, certificate-ready language — is a different skill, and it feels like starting with a blank page.
CPD Genie removes the blank page. You put in what you already know about your course. It surfaces the structure that is already implicit in what you have described. Then you review it, adjust anything that does not fit, and confirm. The professional judgement stays with you; the structuring work does not have to.
What Aims, Skills, and Outcomes actually are
The UK CPD Gold Standard framework structures every course around three things:
Aims — what the course sets out to achieve. The intention behind the training. What problem it addresses or what knowledge it builds.
Skills — what the learner will be able to do as a result of attending. Practical competencies, not abstract concepts. The things they can apply.
Outcomes — what completing the course demonstrates. The evidence of learning. What an employer or professional body can look at and understand.
These three elements appear on every certificate Open CPD issues, and on every learner achievement page. They are what distinguishes a verifiable credential from a PDF with a name on it — they show what the training actually covered, not just that someone attended.
How it fits into the course setup
When you add a course to your Open CPD profile, you describe what it covers — the title, the format, the duration, the content. Once that is in, CPD Genie reads it and generates suggested Aims, Skills, and Outcomes for that specific course. You review what it has produced. If something is not quite right — a skill it has missed, a phrasing that does not match how you talk about your training — you adjust it. Once you are satisfied, you confirm and move on.
This happens once per course, not once per certificate. After that, every certificate you issue for that course carries the same structured, accurate record of what the training delivered.
Specific to your training
The outputs CPD Genie produces are specific to what you have described. They are not generic templates drawn from a database of standard competencies. A mental health first aid course and a leadership communication course will produce completely different Aims, Skills, and Outcomes — because they are different training, described differently, and the tool reads the description you have given.
This is what makes every Open CPD certificate meaningful: the structured content reflects the training that was actually delivered, not a standardised phrase that could apply to anything.
What it is not
CPD Genie is not an accreditation tool. It does not approve your course or certify that it meets an external standard. It helps you articulate, in the right structure, what your course already delivers. The quality of the training is yours. The professional judgement about CPD hours is yours. CPD Genie handles the part that most good trainers find hardest: translating excellent training into the formal language that appears on a verifiable credential.
FAQ
Do I have to use CPD Genie?
CPD Genie generates the initial suggestion, but you review and edit everything it produces before it goes on a certificate. If you already have structured Aims, Skills, and Outcomes written — from a course handbook, a learning design framework, or previous accreditation work — you can use those directly. CPD Genie is there to help when you do not have that to hand.
How detailed does my course description need to be?
The more you put in, the more specific the output. A paragraph describing what the course covers, what format it takes, and what kind of learner it is designed for is enough for CPD Genie to produce a useful first draft. A one-line title with no context will produce something more generic. Spend a few minutes on the course description and the Aims, Skills, and Outcomes will reflect it.
Can I use the same course structure for multiple cohorts?
Yes. Once a course is set up with its Aims, Skills, and Outcomes confirmed, you issue certificates against it as many times as you like. The structure stays consistent across every cohort — which is part of what makes the credential credible. You can also create variants of a course for different audiences or contexts, each with their own tailored Aims, Skills, and Outcomes.
Does CPD Genie work for any subject?
Yes. The tool reads the course description you provide and works from that — it is not limited to a set of subject areas or sector-specific content. Whether you train in financial compliance, mental health first aid, leadership, aesthetics, data protection, or anything else, CPD Genie generates structured outcomes from what you describe.
