DOL AI Literacy Framework: the complete 2026 guide
Every provision of the U.S. Department of Labor's voluntary AI Literacy Framework, published in full, dated, and linked to the source document. Five content areas, seven delivery principles, 60 checkpoints.
The DOL AI Literacy Framework is the U.S. Department of Labor's national, voluntary framework for AI literacy, released February 13, 2026 under Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 07-25. It defines AI literacy as "a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly," and specifies five foundational content areas and seven delivery principles for designing AI training programs.
Last verified against the DOL source: August 20, 2026. What changed
Score your program against all 60 checkpoints- Instrument
- Training and Employment Notice (TEN) No. 07-25
- Issued by
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- Issue date
- February 13, 2026
- Signed
- Henry Mack, Ed.D., Assistant Secretary; Taylor Stockton, Chief Innovation Officer
- Legal status
- Voluntary guidance. No mandate, no certification scheme.
- Structure
- 5 foundational content areas, 7 delivery principles, guidance for 4 audiences
- Funding link
- TEGL 03-25 (August 26, 2025) encourages WIOA funds for AI skills development
- Feedback channel
- aiworkforce@dol.gov
- Official source
- dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/ten-07-25
- Last verified
- August 20, 2026
What is TEN 07-25?
TEN 07-25 is the advisory the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration used to release its Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework on February 13, 2026. Its stated purpose, verbatim: "To issue the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL or Department) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy Framework as a resource for program design and encourage expanded AI literacy training across the public workforce and education systems."
A Training and Employment Notice is how DOL's Employment and Training Administration communicates policy and resources to the public workforce system. This one went to an unusually wide audience: state workforce agencies, workforce boards, American Job Centers, ETA grantees, community and tribal colleges, apprenticeship agencies, Job Corps centers, state educational agencies, state CTE directors, and state education commissioners. That distribution list is the signal. DOL intends this framework to run through both the workforce system and the education system, K-20.
The "Action Requested" section asks these systems and their partners to do two things: expand AI education and training opportunities, and use the AI Literacy Framework as the design resource for those programs. It frames that joint engagement as "critical to the future of talent development and the reindustrialization of America."
TEN 07-25 creates no legal obligation. It is voluntary guidance. But it is the closest thing the United States has to a government-backed definition of what AI literacy training should contain, and it arrives with funding attached: TEGL 03-25, issued August 26, 2025, encourages states and local boards to spend Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds on AI skills development. The framework is what tells those funded programs what good looks like.
The policy lineage: how we got here
TEN 07-25 is the delivery layer of a coordinated federal strategy that built through 2025. The framework itself states it "directly supports DOL's role in implementing the AI Action Plan and America's Talent Strategy" and complements the Education Department's July 2025 actions.
- 2025-04-23
Executive Order 14277 signed
Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth
Directs federal agencies to prioritize AI education across K-12, higher education, and the workforce. The policy root of TEN 07-25.
- 2025-07
America's AI Action Plan released
Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan
Names AI literacy a foundational national priority; TEN 07-25 implements DOL's role in it.
- 2025-07-21
ED supplemental grantmaking priority proposed
Secretary's Supplemental Priority and Definitions on Advancing Artificial Intelligence in Education
Makes advancing AI in education a federal grantmaking priority, a funding signal for schools and districts.
- 2025-07-22
ED Dear Colleague Letter issued
Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Improve Education Outcomes Using Artificial Intelligence
Tells education agencies how federal grant funds can support AI uses to improve outcomes.
- 2025-08-26
TEGL 03-25 issued
Encouraging the Use of WIOA Funding to Help Youth and Adults Develop Artificial Intelligence Skills
Opens WIOA Title I youth, adult, and dislocated-worker funds and governor's reserve monies for AI skills development; contains the preliminary content areas and delivery practices that TEN 07-25 finalizes.
- 2025-08
America's Talent Strategy released
America's Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age
Joint DOL/Commerce/Education strategy framing AI literacy as an industrial competitiveness priority.
- 2026-02-13
TEN 07-25 issued
The U.S. Department of Labor's Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework
Releases the AI Literacy Framework: the official definition, 5 foundational content areas, 7 delivery principles, audience considerations, and a living-document commitment.
- 2026-08-02
EU AI Act Article 4 enforcement begins
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, Article 4 (AI literacy)
The EU sibling obligation. Unlike the voluntary DOL framework, Article 4 is a binding duty for providers and deployers of AI systems. Digital Omnibus Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 deferred high-risk duties but did not defer Article 4.
For education buyers the sequence matters: the funding signal, the Education Department priority and the WIOA opening, arrived months before the content standard. Districts and workforce boards are holding budget and looking for programs that match the framework. That is the demand this guide exists to serve.
State law is moving faster than federal guidance. Track it in the 50-State AI Law Atlas.
The official definition of AI literacy
DOL defines AI literacy as a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly, with a primary focus on generative AI, which is increasingly central to the modern workplace.TEN 07-25, February 13, 2026. Source
Three things in that sentence do real work.
Foundational. DOL is explicit that literacy is a baseline, not expertise: "a foundational level of knowledge and skill that all workers and students should have," the "baseline for engaging with AI tools in any job." The framework acknowledges many roles will need more, up to managing and building AI systems, but the literacy floor is for everyone.
Use and evaluate. The definition is two sided. Using AI without the ability to evaluate its output is not literacy under this framework. It is the failure mode the framework exists to prevent, and evaluation appears again as an entire content area of its own.
Primary focus on generative AI. DOL recognizes AI spans rule-based systems, machine learning, and computer vision, but calls generative AI the most transformative and widespread application, the thing people actually mean when they say AI. Programs built to this framework should center generative tools, not classical machine-learning theory.
The framework also settles a terminology question your procurement committee will ask about. "AI proficiency" and "AI fluency" are in circulation, sometimes as mastery levels, sometimes as synonyms. DOL's answer: "indicating a need for AI literacy is not enough on its own," and employers and stakeholders "may need to define the specific AI skills and depth of knowledge or levels of proficiency appropriate for each role and context." Literacy is the floor. Role-specific proficiency is layered on top.
In an increasingly AI-driven economy, every worker will need baseline AI literacy skills to succeed, regardless of industry or occupation.The framework's thesis sentence.
The five foundational content areas
This is Section 1 of the framework: what an AI literacy program should teach. Each area carries five example content areas in the official text, and all five are published on the area's own page, in full.
Understand AI Principles
A clear grasp of what AI is and how it works, not technical mastery, but the vocabulary and mental models needed to understand how today's AI tools operate. This foundation demystifies AI, supports more confident and accurate use, and enables workers to apply, prompt, and evaluate AI systems effectively across workplace scenarios.
- Pattern recognition and probabilistic outputs
- Capabilities and modalities
- Training and inference
- Hallucinations and accuracy limits
- Human design and oversight
Explore AI Uses
Understanding how AI is being used across real-world workplace settings. Exposure to practical applications that support tasks, augment decision-making, and streamline workstreams builds familiarity and judgment, helping workers recognize when and how to apply AI effectively and where human input remains essential. AI use varies widely by industry, occupation, and context.
- Productivity tools
- Information support
- Creative assistance
- Task-specific applications
- Decision-support systems
Direct AI Effectively
Interacting with AI systems in ways that produce useful and relevant results. Because most AI tools depend heavily on the input they receive, users must learn to provide clear instructions, include necessary context, and iterate strategically. This does not require coding skills, it requires a mental model for framing prompts, sharing information, and improving responses.
- Contextual framing
- Prompting techniques
- Supplying relevant input data
- Iterating on outputs
- Avoiding vague or misleading prompts
Evaluate AI Outputs
Assessing the quality and usefulness of AI-generated outputs. While AI can accelerate work and surface helpful insights, results require thoughtful review. Workers must evaluate whether an output is accurate, complete, and appropriate, applying their own knowledge and judgment so AI is used as a support tool, not a final authority.
- Verifying factual accuracy
- Assessing completeness and clarity
- Spotting gaps or logical errors
- Aligning with strategic intent
- Applying human judgment
Use AI Responsibly
Responsible use is a core component of AI literacy, not an advanced topic. Workers must understand the boundaries of appropriate use: recognizing the limits of AI authority, protecting sensitive data, complying with workplace or legal requirements, and maintaining accountability for outcomes.
- Protecting sensitive information
- Following workplace policies and rules
- Avoiding misuse or harm
- Managing context-specific risks
- Maintaining accountability
The seven delivery principles
Section 2 of the framework covers how AI literacy should be delivered. This is the half of the framework most summaries skip, and it is where most real programs fail inspection. A program can teach all five content areas and still miss the framework entirely if delivery is passive, decontextualized, or frozen in time.
Enable Experiential Learning
AI literacy is most effectively developed through direct, hands-on use, not by reading about AI in the abstract but by using it in real-world contexts to solve actual tasks. Experiential learning accelerates skill development, makes training more engaging and memorable, and lets workers immediately apply what they're learning.
- Real-world task integration
- Interactive prompt exercises
- Live feedback and iteration
- Side-by-side human comparisons
- Progressive difficulty levels
Embed Learning in Context
AI literacy becomes more impactful when delivered in ways directly relevant to the worker's job, industry, or existing training experience. Embedding learning into familiar settings reduces friction, increases uptake, reinforces how AI fits into existing workflows, and supports retention by anchoring new concepts to real scenarios.
- Industry-specific examples
- Occupational tasks and workflows
- Employer-specific alignment
- Training program integration
- Cohort-specific considerations
Build Complementary Human Skills
AI tools are amplifiers of human input, not standalone capabilities with fixed value, their effectiveness depends on the skills, knowledge, and judgment of the people who design, manage, and interact with them. AI literacy efforts work best when they demonstrate AI's augmentation of critical thinking, creativity, communication, and domain expertise.
- Critical thinking integration
- Creative development exercises
- Communication refinement
- Values-based decision scenarios
- Domain expertise amplification
Address Prerequisites to AI Literacy
AI literacy efforts can only succeed if learners have the foundational tools and access needed to engage, digital literacy skills, device access, or broadband connectivity. Programs should proactively identify and address these barriers so participants have what they need to complete training and apply AI tools confidently in daily work.
- Evaluate baseline readiness
- Integrate digital literacy skills
- Consider options for access support
- Consider bandwidth flexibility
- Acknowledge different starting points
Create Pathways for Continued Learning
Foundational AI literacy is only the starting point. Programs should establish visible routes for participants to deepen their skills, pursue specialized training, or transition into AI-related occupations, ensuring AI literacy is not a one-time event but a sustained capability that grows alongside the technology.
- Advance to AI proficiency
- Encourage builder and entrepreneurship pathways
- Design stackable learning models
- Offer occupation-specific progressions
- Support pathways into AI-related careers
Prepare Enabling Roles
AI literacy efforts are more successful when the people supporting workers, managers, trainers, mentors, career counselors, are equipped with the right knowledge and tools to guide others effectively. These individuals are not just secondary learners; they require tailored approaches that reflect their unique roles in enabling others.
- Train-the-trainer models
- Manager upskilling
- Career navigation support
- Peer learning champions
- HR and L&D alignment
Design for Agility
AI technologies evolve at a pace unlike previous workplace tools, new capabilities, platforms, and use cases emerge every few months. AI literacy cannot be treated as a fixed curriculum. Training must be designed with built-in mechanisms for adaptation so content and delivery stay current with the technology landscape.
- Continuous content updates
- Feedback-driven iteration
- Modular content design
- Responsive use case selection
- Outcome-driven iteration
Who the framework is for
Workers, Job Seekers, and Students
Workers can start by identifying routine tasks in their current work, such as drafting emails, summarizing reports, or organizing data, and experimenting with an AI tool to complete those tasks, comparing the AI output with their normal approach and noticing where AI saves time and where human oversight and judgment are especially important. As confidence grows: explore AI tools relevant to their industry, scan job postings for AI-related expectations, and seek training that builds from foundational literacy toward role-specific proficiency.
Employers and Industry Associations
Employers can start by reviewing current workflows where AI tools are emerging, such as drafting reports, analyzing data, or responding to customers, and assessing how basic AI literacy can help employees work more effectively. Also: identify specific tasks where AI can augment employee capabilities, determine what level of AI literacy different roles require, encourage simple hands-on practice around common workplace tasks, provide clear internal guidance on appropriate AI use, and identify roles that may require deeper proficiency. Covers onboarding new hires, upskilling current employees, and equipping managers to guide adoption. Industry associations can use the framework to create shared approaches for member organizations.
Education and Training Providers
Providers can start by reviewing existing curricula to identify where AI literacy content can be integrated, then provide learners with hands-on experience using AI tools to complete tasks relevant to their field of study. Also: add examples tied to specific industries or job roles, incorporate exercises that build judgment about AI outputs, create clear pathways from foundational literacy to deeper role-specific skills, and partner with local employers on regional labor-market relevance. Named provider types include community colleges, online learning platforms, and Registered Apprenticeship programs; content can be a standalone module or embedded within existing learning pathways.
State and Local Agencies
Agencies can start by assessing how workers and employers in their region are adopting AI tools and identifying opportunities to integrate AI literacy content into existing workshops, orientations, or career navigation services. Also: work with local training providers and employers to align content with regional industry needs, ensure staff are equipped to discuss AI tools with customers, and use AI literacy to strengthen re-employment, upskilling, and talent-matching efforts. The framework explicitly supports integrating AI literacy into WIOA services and other programs. Named actors include state and local workforce development boards.
School districts sit inside this framework twice. The TEN is addressed to state educational agencies, state CTE directors, and state education commissioners, and the framework covers "students, faculty, and teachers" alongside workers. DOL has also publicly signaled where this goes next: it "welcomes input on how the framework can be expanded" into "education and training programs across the K-20 landscape." Districts building AI literacy programs now are building to the federal reference before the K-12-specific guidance lands.
Is the DOL AI Literacy Framework mandatory?
No, and anyone selling it as a mandate is misreading the document. The framework "provides voluntary guidance." There is no compliance deadline, no certification, no enforcement. The practical weight is different from the legal weight, in four ways.
- 01Funding alignment. TEGL 03-25 encourages WIOA Title I funds and governor's reserve monies toward AI skills. Programs seeking or receiving that money now have a federal design reference to align with.
- 02Procurement language. Workforce boards, community colleges, and districts writing requests for proposals have a federal vocabulary to write requirements in. The five content areas and seven principles are ready-made evaluation criteria.
- 03Defensibility. For employers, "our AI training is built to the DOL framework" is a credible, checkable statement to boards, insurers, auditors, and counsel, in a way "we did a webinar once" is not.
- 04The EU contrast. In the EU, AI literacy is not voluntary at all. Article 4 of the EU AI Act is a binding obligation, and national authorities have held enforcement powers since August 2, 2026. Organizations with exposure on both sides of the Atlantic need both references.
What comes next: this framework will change
DOL is unusually direct that this is version one: the framework "will evolve over time based on stakeholder input, advances in AI capabilities, and changes in labor market dynamics." Three forward signals sit in the document.
- DOL welcomes input on expanding the framework to include industry-specific guidance supporting integration into incumbent worker training, Registered Apprenticeships, career and technical education, and education and training programs across the K-20 landscape.
- DOL will explore ways to identify and share promising AI literacy models, tools, and training approaches.
- The TEN points users to DOL's Competency Model Clearinghouse (including the Building Blocks Model) and anticipates updating those models for evolving digital and AI competency requirements.
- 2026-08-20Guide published and verified. The complete guide went live: all 12 provisions, all 60 checkpoints, the four audience notes and the policy lineage, published against the TEN 07-25 document and its attachments, with the Alignment Checker built from the same text.
- 2026-03-25WorkforceGPS listing updated. The Employment and Training Administration's WorkforceGPS resource page for the framework was last updated on this date. No change to the framework text.
- 2026-02-13TEN 07-25 issued. DOL released the AI Literacy Framework: the definition, five foundational content areas, seven delivery principles and guidance for four audiences. Initial version, with DOL committing to evolve it over time.
How to evaluate an AI literacy program against the framework
The framework gives you 12 provisions, five content areas and seven delivery principles, each with five concrete markers. That is 60 checkpoints, and they are the closest thing that exists to a federal rubric for an AI literacy program. There are two ways to use them.
Self-assess in about 12 minutes
The Alignment Checker walks all 60 checkpoints, scores your program provision by provision, and produces a dated gap report you can hand to leadership, a board, or a procurement committee. Free, no account, and your answers stay in your browser.
Open the Alignment CheckerClose the gap with a program built to it
AI Literacy and Professional Conduct: 144 topics across 14 modules, every topic gated by a mastery assessment, and a signed credential an employer can verify. $149 for an individual. Team seats run $89, $69 and $49 a seat by volume, from 10 seats.
See the programModule titles are read from the program registry, so this table cannot disagree with what the program actually contains.
Frequently asked questions
What is TEN 07-25?
Training and Employment Notice No. 07-25 is the U.S. Department of Labor advisory, issued February 13, 2026, that released the DOL's Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework to the public workforce system and education partners. It encourages states, local areas, employers, and training providers to use the framework when designing AI literacy education and training.
What is the DOL AI Literacy Framework?
It is the Department of Labor's voluntary national framework for AI literacy, released as an attachment to TEN 07-25. It defines AI literacy as a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly, with a primary focus on generative AI, and specifies five foundational content areas and seven delivery principles for designing AI literacy programs.
Is the DOL AI Literacy Framework mandatory?
No. The framework is voluntary guidance and creates no legal requirement for employers, schools, or workers. Its practical weight comes from funding and policy alignment: TEGL 03-25 encourages states to spend WIOA funds on AI skills development, and the framework tells those programs what good AI literacy content looks like.
What are the five foundational content areas of the DOL AI Literacy Framework?
(1) Understand AI Principles, how AI works, its capabilities and limits; (2) Explore AI Uses, real workplace applications; (3) Direct AI Effectively, prompting and providing context; (4) Evaluate AI Outputs, verifying accuracy, completeness, and fit; (5) Use AI Responsibly, protecting sensitive information, following policy, and maintaining accountability.
What are the seven delivery principles of the DOL AI Literacy Framework?
(1) Enable experiential learning; (2) Embed learning in context; (3) Build complementary human skills; (4) Address prerequisites to AI literacy; (5) Create pathways for continued learning; (6) Prepare enabling roles; (7) Design for agility.
How does DOL define AI literacy?
DOL defines AI literacy as a foundational set of competencies that enable individuals to use and evaluate AI technologies responsibly, with a primary focus on generative AI, which is increasingly central to the modern workplace.
Does the DOL certify AI literacy training programs?
No. DOL does not certify, approve, endorse, or accredit any training program under TEN 07-25. Any program claiming to be 'DOL certified' or 'DOL approved' is misrepresenting the framework. The accurate way to describe an aligned program is 'built to the DOL AI Literacy Framework.'
Who is the DOL AI Literacy Framework for?
The framework names four audiences: workers (including job seekers and students), employers (including industry associations), education and training providers (community colleges, online platforms, Registered Apprenticeships), and state and local agencies (workforce boards, American Job Centers, education agencies). The TEN is addressed to the state workforce and education system leadership.
How is the DOL framework related to WIOA funding?
TEGL 03-25 (August 26, 2025) encourages states and local workforce boards to use Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I funds, including governor's reserve monies, for AI skills development. TEN 07-25 then provides the content framework those WIOA-funded programs are encouraged to use for program design.
How is the DOL AI Literacy Framework different from EU AI Act Article 4?
Both target AI literacy, but Article 4 of the EU AI Act is a binding legal obligation for providers and deployers of AI systems, enforced from August 2, 2026, while the DOL framework is voluntary guidance for U.S. workforce and education programs. Organizations exposed to both regimes typically design one literacy program that satisfies Article 4 and is built to the DOL framework.
Does the DOL AI Literacy Framework apply to schools and school districts?
Yes. The TEN is addressed to state educational agencies, state CTE directors, and state education commissioners alongside workforce agencies, and the framework covers students, teachers, and faculty. DOL has also signaled it welcomes input on expanding the framework for education and training programs across the K-20 landscape.
Where can I download the official DOL AI Literacy Framework PDF?
From the DOL advisory page at dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/ten-07-25, which links the complete document including Attachment I (the framework) and Attachment II (the framework graphic). A companion site, ailiteracyframework.org, hosts the framework and DOL's free 'Make America AI-Ready' course.
Find out where your program actually stands
Sixty checkpoints, twelve provisions, one dated report. Then decide whether to close the gaps yourself or adopt a program that was designed against the framework from the first module.
Sources and verification
- www.dol.gov /agencies/eta/advisories/ten-07-25
- www.dol.gov /newsroom/releases/eta/eta20260213
- www.dol.gov /agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-03-25
- www.whitehouse.gov /presidential-actions/2025/04/advancing-artificial-intelligence-education-for-american-youth/
- www.whitehouse.gov /wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf
- www.dol.gov /sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/2025/08/Americas-Talent-Strategy-Building-the-Workforce-for-the-Golden-Age.pdf
- www.ed.gov /media/document/opepd-ai-dear-colleague-letter-7222025-110427.pdf
- www.federalregister.gov /documents/2025/07/21/2025-13650/proposed-priority-and-definitions-secretarys-supplemental-priority-and-definitions-on-advancing
- ailiteracyframework.org /
- www.careeronestop.org /CompetencyModel/
GAGE (Global Academy of Generative-AI Education) is a private education company, not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Department of Labor. DOL does not certify or endorse training programs. Framework summaries are drawn from the public TEN 07-25 document. Read TEN 07-25 on dol.gov. Last verified: August 20, 2026.
Framework quotations are reproduced from the public government document under 17 U.S.C. section 105, with source links.
Last verified against the DOL source: August 20, 2026. What changed